Israel has received a shipment of the Japanese drug ‘Avigan’ as they combat the global pandemic of COVID-19; China has seen good results from the drug created by Japan’s Fujifilm Holding Corp.

After having successful test runs in China regarding the battle against COVID-19, the Japanese drug known as Avigan has made its way to Israel for further testing. The first shipment arrived on Monday according to Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

The tests have revealed that his drug is effective in the early stages of COVID-19. Avigan is considered to be a flu-treating drug. Pending the Health Ministry’s approval, Israel is expected to test approximately 80 patients with the drug in Beersheva, Hadassah, Sourasky, and Tiverya. According to Professor Ran Nir-Paz in Hadassah, “The medicine is being used in the frontlines of care in Japan. The goal of Israeli research is to examine if the medicine is effective for this indication.”

In addition to the hospitals in various locations, researchers at the Hebrew University will be taking a deeper look into Avigan as well.