A new drug that can knock out the flu virus in just one day has been approved in Japan, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal on Friday, February 23, 2018.
The drug Xofluza was fast-tracked for approval, but it will be several months before patients may purchase the pill, as prices still need to be set by Japan’s national insurer.
The new drug was demonstrated to be faster at killing the flu virus than any other treatment on the market, including the popular Tamiflu, used in the United States.
That’s because Xofluza works differently.
Existing drugs allow the virus to occupy cells, working to block new viral material from escaping and infecting other cells.
This new drug, on the other hand, works to stop the flu virus from taking over healthy cells to replicate itself, which kills it off sooner.
According to the Shionogi & Company, that developed Xofluza, patients using the drug not only recover faster, but are less likely to pass the flu virus onto others.
Shionogi and Roche, the maker of Tamiflu, are said to be finishing up a second late-stage trial, after which they plan to file for regulatory approval in the United States.
