Japan’s largest drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Company announced that it is currently developing a drug that could treat the coronavirus infection.
Takeda is working on a kind of “plasma-derived therapy” that has been proven to cure severe acute viral respiratory infections and might as well be effective for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The researchers said they need to have samples of the blood of people who have recovered from the new virus or those who have been vaccinated.
“We will do all that we can to address the novel coronavirus threat…(and) are hopeful that we can expand the treatment options,” said Takeda’s Vaccine Business Unit President Rajeev Venkayya.
Takeda said it is coordinating with health experts and regulators in Asia, Europe and the United States to move forward its research as they intend to release the drug within nine months, the earliest.
The drugmaker furthered that it is also studying whether any of its already marketed products may be effective treatments for the infected patients which have now grown to more than 95,000 globally.
Earlier, it was reported that a group of scientists from Europe has also started reviewing existing antiviral drugs in similar hopes that some may help treat COVID-19.
A total of 3,285 people have already died due to the virus and there remains no cure for this worldwide pandemic.
