Shionogi Oral Coronavirus Drug Found Effective In Clinical Trial
Japanese pharmaceutical company Shionogi says its orally administered coronavirus treatment drug has been found to improve symptoms in the final stage of its clinical trial.
Shionogi on Wednesday announced the results of the third and final phase of its clinical trial on the oral drug Xocova.
Coronavirus patients aged 12 through 69 with mild to moderate symptoms were eligible to take part in the trial. Some 1,800 patients participated.
It was conducted from February through mid-July of this year.
The patients were divided into two groups. One group was given Xocova once a day for five days, while the other was given a placebo. Neither the patients nor doctors knew which group was being administered the drug.
The patients in the group that was given the drug lost all five major symptoms -- cough, sore throat, stuffy or runny nose, tiredness and fever -- in about seven days. This improvement came about 24 hours earlier than in those in the placebo group.
In addition, the amount of the virus in the bodies of the patients given the drug was found to have decreased significantly on day four of the study. The patients suffered no serious side effects.
Shionogi applied to Japan's health ministry earlier in the year for emergency authorization of this first-ever oral drug that can be administered to people who are not at risk of serious illness.
A ministry council decided in July to continue deliberating the application, citing a lack of data to suggest efficacy.
The company plans to submit its newly acquired data to the ministry and other relevant bodies.