• Coronavirus, Aifa: from Thursday the trial of the anti-arthritis drug
  • Coronavirus, Aifa: shortage of medicines in hospitals, green light for emergency measures

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March 22, 2020 "To date, there are no published clinical studies related to the efficacy and safety of the drug" favipiravir (commercial name Avigan) "in the treatment of Covid-19 disease".

This was stated by the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA), regarding information circulated on the use of the product against new coronavirus infection.

"Favipiravir - explains Aifa - is an antiviral authorized in Japan since March 2014 for the treatment of forms of flu caused by new or re-emerging flu viruses and its use is limited to cases where other antivirals are ineffective. The medicine is not it is authorized neither in Europe nor in the USA ".

Lawsuits against fake news
Aifa is ready to take legal action against those who spread false information on Covid-19, as in the case of the drug Avigan which, according to some videos circulating on the net, would be considered effective against the disease. This was stated by the Italian Medicines Agency in a note.

Rasi (Ema): new treatments to evaluate
Twenty new drugs and 35 vaccines have been proposed for evaluation by the European Medicines Agency (Ema) for the fight against the new Coronavirus. EMA executive director Guido Rasi said this to ANSA, also reporting that a summit was held on 18 March between Ema, the US FDA and Icmra, the International Coalition that brings together 17 medicines regulatory authorities, including Rasi is president, to take stock. Among the points that emerged is that, if you run, the vaccine will have "within a year," says Rasi.

Testing of drugs for Covid
"Within a month we will know if one of the candidates for Covid treatment works. The goal is to give quick and reliable answers to patients already in the hospital and those who, unfortunately, will arrive. We focus on impact therapies, capable of changing the disease course and increase survival. " He says this in an interview with Corriere Nicola Magrini, clinical pharmacologist, director of the Italian drug agency.

And on the rheumatoid arthritis drug used in patients with pneumonia these days he underlines: "We have had a spectacular adhesion to the experimentation of Tocilizumab, a monoclonal antibody that could be effective in counteracting the inflammation underlying the serious pneumonia that causes death in the most serious patients. After perhaps optimistic and certainly premature statements about the success of the therapy in very few patients, we were subjected to requests for the use of the drug, already approved for other indications, mainly rheumatoid arthritis, which needed studies rigorous clinicians to confirm its effectiveness or not. That's why it was decided to start with a single national study coordinated by Aifa ".