In order to prevent the medical crisis caused by the new coronavirus, it is necessary to have an oral drug that can be taken by patients with a low risk of becoming seriously ill. We have submitted our proposal to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
The proposal was submitted to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on the 2nd by the Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases and the Japanese Society of Chemotherapy.
Oral drugs for the new coronavirus that can be used in the mild stage have been approved for patients with a high risk of becoming severe, but there are no drugs that can be used for patients with a low risk. It is important to promptly administer drugs to mildly ill patients who live with others to suppress the spread of infection.
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On top of that, regarding the oral drug "Zokoba" developed by Shionogi with the aim of using it in low-risk patients, "Clinical trials have shown improvement in respiratory symptoms and reduction in viral load." The country should consider approval as soon as possible.
``Zokoba'' was applied for using the newly created emergency approval system, but in July this year, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare council said, ``There is insufficient data to estimate its effectiveness.'' It has been postponed, and it is expected that the review will be conducted again based on the results of new clinical trials that will be shown this month.
At a press conference, Tetsuya Matsumoto, president of the Japanese Society of Chemotherapy, said, "If new data comes out, we want to start deliberations as soon as possible and approve it as soon as possible."