By Alex Ho
Investing.com - Fujifilm Holdings Corp. (T:4901) surged 5% on Tuesday morning in Asia after Japan said it is considering using an anti-influenza medication developed by a Fujifilm group company to treat coronavirus patients.
Katsunobu Kato, Japan’s health minister, said on Saturday that the country is planning to recommend using Avigan to treat the new coronavirus.
Avigan is an anti-influenza drug developed by a Fujifilm group company that has previously been used to treat Ebola, Fujifilm said on its website. Citing Kato, Bloomberg said test dosages have shown effects in mild and asymptomatic coronavirus cases.
The company’s shares in Japan jumped 4.9% to 5,680 yen by 11:25 PM ET (03:25 GMT). They jumped as much as 8.8% earlier in the day. That compared to the Nikkei 225, which slumped more than 3% today, on escalating concern over the global coronavirus outbreak.