Avigan, known generically as favipiravir - another

Avigan, known generically as favipiravir - another possible COVID-19 drug
There's another drug out there with promise too -- it's a Japanese flug drug Of course drugs like this are not interesting to our **** you up the a$$ pharmaceutical industry, as they're only useful for a short while when you're sick. Far better to work on things for, oh, high blood pressure or cholesterol which you would have to take for years, or even for life. Never mind that it's pretty simple compound as well so it's easy to make -- and thus cheap. There is one fly in the ointment known for that particular option -- it's potentially teratogenic. Anyone remember thalidomide? On the other hand if you're old and thus at the highest risk from this virus, and are already sick that's not really much of a concern, is it?

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Pharmaceutic...n-bullpen2

Flu fighter Avigan gets coronavirus call after 30 years in bullpen
Indonesia imports antiviral after endorsement from China

DAISAKU YAMASAKI, Deputy Editor at Nikkei Medical and WATARU SUZUKI, Nikkei staff writer
MARCH 21, 2020 01:32 JST

Avigan, the antiviral drug developed in Japan, has drawn global attention after Chinese medical authorities suggested it was effective in treating the new coronavirus. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
TOKYO -- Three days after Beijing endorsed the Japan-developed flu drug Avigan as a treatment for COVID-19, Indonesia is importing millions of doses to treat its patients, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said during a live-streamed press briefing from the Presidential Palace on Friday.

"No antivirus has been found. But some drugs have been tried in several countries and caused recovery -- namely Avigan," Jokowi said. "We have imported 5,000 doses, and are in the process of ordering 2 million more."

Avigan, the antiviral drug developed in Japan, has suddenly drawn global attention after Chinese medical authorities suggested it was effective in treating the new coronavirus.

But behind its rise is a three-decade struggle marked by twists and turns, according to interviews with people involved in its development. That history may be both a blessing and a curse for its producer, Toyama Chemical, as it joins the global race to find a cure for coronavirus.

The advantage of Avigan in the context of the current crisis is that "there is a national reserve as well as extensive research and tests conducted for influenza," said Yohei Doi, who leads clinical trials at Fujita Health University. "On the other hand, we don't yet know if it reduces the virus when given to humans." He said the results from research in China were encouraging, but that many details, such as the profile of patients that had received the drug, had still not been made public.