Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T12:27:53.579Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Favipiravir: A New Medication for the Ebola Virus Disease Pandemic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 December 2014

Takashi Nagata*
Affiliation:
Japan Medical Association Research Institute, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Alan K. Lefor
Affiliation:
Department of Surgery, Jichi Medical School, Shimotsuke, Japan
Manabu Hasegawa
Affiliation:
Shimonoseki-city Public Health Center, Shimonoseki, Japan
Masami Ishii
Affiliation:
Japan Medical Association, Japan.
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Takashi Nagata, MD, Japan Medical Association Research Institute, 2-28-16 Honkomagome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8621, Japan (e-mail: [email protected]).

Abstract

The purpose of this report is to advocate speedy approval and less stringent regulations for the use of experimental drugs such as favipiravir in emergencies. Favipiravir is a new antiviral medication that can be used in emerging viral pandemics such as Ebola virus, 2009 pandemic influenza H1N1 virus, Lassa fever, and Argentine hemorrhagic fever. Although favipiravir is one of the choices for the treatment of patients with Ebola virus, several concerns exist. First, a clinical trial of favipiravir in patients infected with the Ebola virus has not yet been conducted, and further studies are required. Second, favipiravir has a risk for teratogenicity and embryotoxicity. Therefore, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labor of Japan has approved this medication with strict regulations for its production and clinical use. However, owing to the emerging Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa, on August 15, 2014, the Minister of Health, Welfare and Labor of Japan approved the use of favipiravir, if needed. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-3)

Type
Brief Reports
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Smither, SJ, Eastaugh, LS, Steward, JA, et al. Post-exposure efficacy of oral T-705 (Favipiravir) against inhalational Ebola virus infection in a mouse model. Antiviral Res. 2014;104:153-155.Google Scholar
2.Oestereich, L, Lüdtke, A, Wurr, S, et al. Successful treatment of advanced Ebola virus infection with T-705 (favipiravir) in a small animal model. Antiviral Res. 2014;105:17-21.Google Scholar
3.Park, S, Kim, JI, Lee, I, et al. Combination effects of peramivir and favipiravir against oseltamivir-resistant 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) infection in mice. PloS One. 2014;9(7):e101325.Google Scholar
4.Mendenhall, M, Russell, A, Smee, DF, et al. Effective oral favipiravir (T-705) therapy initiated after the onset of clinical disease in a model of arenavirus hemorrhagic Fever. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2011;5(10):e1342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5.Maganga, GD, Kapetshi, J, Berthet, N, et al. Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo. N Engl J Med. 2014;371(22):2083-2091.Google Scholar
6. World Health Organization. WHO: Ebola Response Roadmap Update 17 October 2014. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/136645/1/roadmapupdate17Oct14_eng.pdf. Accessed November 23, 2014.Google Scholar
7. Pharmaceuticals and Medical Device Agency, Japan. Result of the Examination for Favipiravior [in Japanese]. http://www.info.pmda.go.jp/shinyaku/P201400047/left.html. Accessed October 21, 2014.Google Scholar
8. Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labor, Japan. Summary of media conference by Tamura Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labor, on August 15, 2014 [in Japanese]. http://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/kaiken/daijin/0000054819.html. Accessed October 21, 2014.Google Scholar
9. Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet. Officail Media Conference on the current situation of Ebola Virus Disease by the Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on August 25 2014 [in Japanese]. http://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/tyoukanpress/201408/25_a.html. Accessed October 21, 2014.Google Scholar
10. Fuji Film News Release. The application of Avigan on the patients infected by Ebola virus disease [in Japanese]. October 6, 2014. http://www.fujifilm.co.jp/corporate/news/articleffnr_0918.html. Accessed October 21, 2014.Google Scholar
11. World Medical Association. WMA Resolution on Unproven Therapy and the Ebola Virus. http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/e20/index.html. Adopted October 2014. Accessed October 21, 2014.Google Scholar