Japanese Takeda Pharma says it is developing coronavirus drug

According to The Asahi Shimbun, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. said it was developing a drug to treat COVID-19, the flu-like illness that has struck more than 90,000 people worldwide and killed over 3,000.
The Japanese drug maker is working on a plasma-derived therapy to treat high-risk individuals infected with the new coronavirus and will share its plans with members of the U.S. Congress, it said in a statement.
Takeda is also studying whether its currently marketed and pipeline products may be effective treatments for infected patients.
“We will do all that we can to address the novel coronavirus threat ... (and) are hopeful that we can expand the treatment options,” Rajeev Venkayya, president of Takeda’s vaccine business, said in the statement.
Takeda said it was in talks with various health and regulatory agencies and health-care partners in the United States, Asia and Europe to move forward its research into the drug.
Its research requires access to the blood of people who have recovered from the respiratory disease or who have been vaccinated, once a vaccine is developed, Takeda said.
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http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13186520

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/-9.html?lang=ja
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