--- title: "China Says This Drug Is “Clearly Effective” Against Coronavirus" description: "According to Japanese media, Chinese medical authorities have found that a drug called \"favipiravir\" has shown promise in treating COVID-19 patients." date: "2020-03-18" modified: "2020-03-18" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/china-drug-clearly-effective-coronavirus" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "Pathogens" - "Viruses" tags: - "china" - "coronavirus" - "covid-19" --- # China Says This Drug Is “Clearly Effective” Against Coronavirus ![According to Japanese media, Chinese medical authorities have found that a drug called "favipiravir" has shown promise in treating COVID-19 patients.]() *\Image: Yikrazuul/Victor Tangermann\* [According to Japanese media](), Chinese medical authorities have found that an antiviral drug called "favipiravir" has shown promise in treating COVID-19 patients, [*The Guardian* reports](). "It has a high degree of safety and is clearly effective in treatment," Zhang Xinmin, an official at China's science and technology ministry, told reporters on Tuesday. The drug has been used in the past to fight an outbreak of the Ebola virus in Guinea. Its developer has yet to comment on the claims made by the Chinese authorities. The drug, known also by its market name Avigan and developed by a Japanese Fujifilm subsidiary called Fujifilm Toyama Chemical, was reportedly able to turn COVID-19 tests negative for those who were infected after just four days as part of a trial involving 240 patients from Wuhan, China, and 80 patients in Shenzhen. Without treatment, the median time was 11 days, according to *The Guardian*. The drug also appeared to improve lung condition in 91 percent of patients, compared to just 62 percent whose lung conditions improved without the drug. But it's far from perfect at stopping the spread of the deadly virus. "We’ve given Avigan to 70 to 80 people, but it doesn’t seem to work that well when the virus has already multiplied," an unnamed Japanese health ministry source told the Japanese media, as quoted by *The Guardian*. ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()