[Ynet] - Israel Monday received the first shipment of Avigan, an antiviral drug developed by the Japanese company Toyama Chemical which was found to be effective against the coronavirus, for further testing on patients in the country's hospitals.
Avigan is approved for manufacture and sale in Japan as an influenza antiviral. It selectively inhibits the RNA polymerase of the influenza virus, an enzyme required for viral replication once human host cells are infected. COVID-19 also uses this enzyme to replicate and is classified into the same type of single-stranded RNA virus as influenza; hence, it is believed that Avigan may be effective in treating COVID-19. |