As the Ebola crisis is getting worse, Fujifilm has announced that Avigan, a drug the company had released to treat influenza, will become the next successful drug to treat Ebola. According to Fujifilm, Avigan has already been used to treat Ebola patients in various European countries and has successfully helped people recover from the infectious disease. Fujifilm is the owner of Toyama Chemical Co., which makes Avigan.
The new Ebola-drug should be approved by the end of the year for treating patients affected by the infectious disease. According to Fujifilm Holdings Corp, the company already has enough of Avigan to treat 20.000 patients and currently has the ingredients to produce as many tablets as needed to treat at least 300.000 patients suffering of Ebola. Avigan had been approved in Japan earlier with the purpose of treating new strains of the influenza virus. Clinical trials to test Avigan on Ebola patients should commence in Guinea, and the CEO of Fujifilm, as well as the head of the pharmaceuticals division and Japanese Prime Minister all agree that Avigan will be a successful treatment for Ebola patients.
Fujifilm has been expanding its pharmaceutical division, as its photography operations aren’t doing so well at the moment and are headed for a stop. The company will continue its expansion into the health care business in the future, and with the imminent approval of Avigan, Fujifilm should become one of the leading companies in pharmaceuticals in no time. Besides being in it for the money, the company also stressed the fact that they would be offering aid and resources to fight Ebola. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that the government would be supporting these efforts and will raise the amount of money they wanted to donate to the cause from $40 million to $140 million in aid.