REUTERS
December 13, 2022 at 16:05 JST
Shionogi & Co.’s Xocova, a drug to treat patients with mild and moderate COVID-19 symptoms, approved for emergency use (Provided by Shionogi & Co.)
Shionogi & Co. Ltd. said on Tuesday the Japanese government agreed to purchase an additional 1 million doses of its oral treatment for COVID-19.
Shionogi previously agreed to sell a million doses of the drug, a protease inhibitor known as ensitrelvir and commercially as Xocova, to the government pending approval. The added supply agreement comes at a time when Japan is dealing with an eighth wave of COVID infections.
Regulators granted emergency approval for Xocova last month. They had previously postponed approval saying they wanted to see more data on its effectiveness and amid concerns that the drug could pose a risk to pregnancies, based on results from animal studies.
Xocova is an oral antiviral agent taken once daily for five days to suppress replication of the virus.
The drug is Japan's first domestically developed oral drug for patients with mild COVID symptoms. Other pill-based treatments developed by Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co. were previously approved for use in Japan.
Shionogi said it expected the expanded supply deal to have a limited impact on its results in the year through March 2023.
Shionogi’s anti-COVID-19 tablet wins emergency approval for use
November 23, 2022
Shionogi says COVID pill trial shows reduction in symptoms
September 28, 2022
Shionogi seeks Japan approval for COVID-19 vaccine
November 25, 2022
Panel again does not approve Shionogi’s pill to treat COVID-19
July 21, 2022
Shionogi’s COVID-19 pill likely not for pregnant women
April 13, 2022
Shionogi seeks approval for its COVID-19 pills for mild patients
February 25, 2022
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
A peek through the music industry’s curtain at the producers who harnessed social media to help their idols go global.
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
