The compound I was speaking of was developed by FujiFilm corporation in Japan. I have no idea what sort of funding was used to develop that particular compound.
It’s not ‘our’. It’s ‘theirs’.
One of my biggest question is why haven’t we heard about it. We’ve only been told about the magical serum that’s in dire short supply and gotten the opinion of ethicists as to who will be allowed to partake of it. I suspect should ebola get to japan they’ll just distribute this particular compound that they’ve *already* stockpiled there in case of a flu outbreak. We will have a ‘rationed’ treatment only available to the ‘right sort’ of people.
Meanwhile, Fujifilm’s U.S. partner, MediVector Inc. of Boston, is in talks with the FDA to submit an application to use the drug Favipiravir in humans for Ebola, according to Department of Defense spokeswoman Amy Derrick-Frost. If successful, the treatment drug will be one of the first allowed by U.S. regulators to fight the disease in humans.
The Department of Defense has prioritized the completion of a study that tests the drug in Ebola-infected monkeys, Derrick-Frost said. The drug can be fast-tracked through the regulatory review process after the studies are complete, she said. Preliminary monkey data are expected in mid-September, she said.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/08/08/national/science-health/ebola-drug-japan-may-emerge-among-key-candidates/#.U-UOUPldWSo
The Department of Defense in 2012 awarded a $138.5 million contract to MediVector to further develop Favipiravir against multiple influenza viruses.
Fujifilm shares rose 5.4 percent to ¥3,089.5 in Japan on Thursday, the biggest gain in more than a year.
The Defense Department has been funding U.S. clinical trials of the medicine for influenza as part of its effort to boost the country’s biodefense capabilities and protect the military against flu pandemics.
If the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gives some kind of accelerated approval for an Ebola drug, that could provide guidance for developing countries, said David Heymann, an infectious disease expert at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who has studied Ebola since the first outbreak in 1976.