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Originally Posted by superdog
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-h...-idUSKBN215025
TOKYO/BEIJING (Reuters) - Shares in Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings Corp (4901.T) surged 15% on Wednesday after a Chinese official said an active ingredient of the company’s Avigan anti-flu drug appeared to help coronavirus patients recover.
Avigan, also known as Favipiravir, is manufactured by a subsidiary of Fujifilm, which has a healthcare arm although it is better known for its cameras. The drug was approved for use in Japan in 2014.
Favipiravir has been effective, with no obvious side-effects, in helping coronavirus patients recover, Zhang Xinmin, an official at China’s Science and Technology Ministry, told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday.
But a Fujifilm spokesman said the company expects no direct earnings impact from potential sales growth of Favipiravir in China, at least for now, as
its license for the key ingredient in the country already expired last year.
In Japan, Fujifilm manufactures Avigan only on receiving orders from the government and has no sales target for the drug, she said.
Fujifilm shares closed Wednesday up 15.4% at their daily limit high of 5,238 yen.