New drug trial: Flu drug used in Japan could be effective in treating coronavirus

There have been reports of a drug used in Japan to treat the flu that could be effective in treating coronavirus. Well, now researchers from The Alfred and Monash University in Melbourne have set out to determine whether the antiviral drug called Favipiravir, which was originally developed to treat people with influenza, could help clear the virus more quickly and also help people recover from the illness.

Led by the researcher and infectious diseases specialist Dr James McMahon, the VIRCO trial, is currently enrolling symptomatic people with the virus in the first five days of diagnosis to trial the drug. Favipiravir is currently being studied in multiple countries for Covid-19 including the United States and Japan, and this trial is now being studied in Australia.

“We think this could work for Covid-19,” Dr McMahon said. “There were two smaller trials in China which showed that Favipiravir cleared the virus more quickly and people with less severe infection recovered more quickly.”

Dr McMahon said the antiviral drug needs to be studied further in a placebo-controlled study where half the people get the drug and half get a sugar pill or placebo.

“These studies were in a small number of people, so it needs to be studied further in a placebo-controlled study,” he explained. “This means half the people get the drug and half get a sugar pill or placebo so it is a rigorous way of working out whether this drug helps people clear the virus and recover more quickly.”

Dr McMahon went on to add that the Japanese antiviral drug has proven to be safe in previous trials making it the perfect candidate to study.

“Importantly, Favipiravir has been given to thousands of people safely in trials studying other viral infections before Covid-19,” he said.

“This is why we think it is an excellent candidate to study not only for people in hospitals but also people in their homes with Covid-19. The study staff will closely monitor people while they are on the trial.”