Coronavirus It has not been approved in Spain
Kiko HuescaEFE
Scientists have been looking for a vaccine for the coronavirus for weeks, with research continuing to advance not only how to prevent the spread of the disease, but also how to treat patients.
So far, no substance specifically designed to fight COVID-19 has been discovered, although there are studies whose results allow us to be optimistic.
Chinese authorities, for example, regard favipiravir as a “clearly effective” antiviral which was developed by the Japanese company Toyama Chemical, which named it Avigan, and which has been tested by the University of Wuhan in China.
In a study of 240 pneumonia patients, although these were not serious cases, half of them were given this medicine while the other half received Umifenovir (or Arbidol), an antiviral used in Russia.
Those who received Favipiravir saw that the symptoms of fever and cough disappeared earlier, but a similar number in each group ended up needing oxygen or respirators, concluding that Favipiravir was the “preferred Of the two drugs.
As reported in the MIT Technology Review, owned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), there has been little (and no conclusive conclusion) on the benefits of using certain compounds in the fight against the coronavirus with Favipiravir and two others included.
Chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine: This is an antimalarial drug tested by doctors of IHU-Mediterranean infection in Marseille, France, who treated 26 patients with Covid-19 for 10 days with 200 milligrams of hydroxychloroquine three times per day.
Some have also received the antibiotic azithromycin. After six days, the treated patients had a lower viral load than the patients from another center who had not received this treatment, although with such a small sample, the study conclusions could not be considered. as final.
Lopinavir and ritonavir: these are advanced anti-HIV drugs that have been tested in adults hospitalized for severe Covid-19 in China, with a random sample of 199 patients with pneumonia to receive the anti-HIV drugs Lopinavir and Ritonavir.
The results have shown no improvement associated with this treatment, and almost 20% of patients who have used it have died, so it is doubtful whether this treatment will be effective in less severe patients.
Favipiravir is effective because it works by preventing the virus from copying its genetic material.
It was discovered while researching drugs to treat a common flu and has strong inhibitory activity on RNA polymerase RNA, which is dependent on most viruses with RNA genomes.
Among them, influenza viruses have been shown to be sensitive to this new antiviral drug, including strains with genetic resistance to neuraminidase inhibitors.
It is important to remember that Avigan, the brand of Favipiravir, was licensed in Japan, but not in Europe or the United States, as there is no scientific evidence of its effectiveness.
Despite this, and in the absence of an effective and widely used vaccine to treat COVID-19 around the world, countries like Italy have decided to approve the use of the drug.
In the case of Spain, the Ministry of Health includes it in the list of “Other treatments under investigation for which there is no evidence at the moment”.
“Its use is not recommended except in clinical trials,” according to ministry documentation.
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