On Mar. 31, 2020, FUJIFILM announced initiation of a phase III clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of influenza antiviral drug ‘Avigan Tablet’ (generic name: favipiravir) in Japan for patients of COVID-19, a respiratory infection caused by the novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).

vigan, approved for manufacture and sale as an influenza antiviral drug in Japan, has a mechanism of action for selectively inhibiting RNA polymerase involved in influenza viral replication.