When a group such as the University of Tokyo investigated the effect of a therapeutic drug on "BA.5", a type of Omicron strain of the new coronavirus that is expanding worldwide, in cultured cell experiments, the antiviral currently used We announced the results that the drug was highly effective.
This research was published in the international medical journal "New England Journal of Medicine" by a group of Professor Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo.
The group infects cultured cells with the actual virus of the Omicron strain "BA.5" and administers various therapeutic agents to investigate how much the virus growth is suppressed.
As a result, the components of the three types of antiviral drugs approved in Japan, "Remdesivir", "Lagebrio", and "Pakirovid", all suppress the virus growth more than "BA.2". It means that the effect was high.
On the other hand, with regard to therapeutic drugs using antibodies, in this experiment, there were some that were significantly less effective than the initial effect on the virus.
Professor Kawaoka commented, "The pathogenicity of'BA.5'is not yet fully understood, but in the experiments, even drugs that can be used in Japan were highly effective, so I think it is safe in that respect." ..