On November 217622, 2022, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare granted emergency approval for manufacturing and marketing of the new coronavirus infection treatment drug "Zokoba®" (development number: S-11) developed by Hokkaido University and Shionogi & Co., Ltd.It is the first therapeutic drug produced in Japan, and the first to utilize the emergency approval system.
According to Hokkaido University and Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Zocoba works by inhibiting the 3CL protease of the new coronavirus, an enzyme essential for its proliferation.Take the medicine once a day for 1 days.It is characterized by the fact that it can be taken from the mild stage even for patients with a low risk of aggravation.Clinical trials targeting mild to moderately ill patients have confirmed symptom improvement and antiviral effects, and non-clinical trials have confirmed antiviral activity against various mutant strains.With the start of provision to medical institutions, it is expected to be a new option for the treatment of the new coronavirus, which continues to spread in the 1th wave.
In 2018, Hokkaido University and Shionogi & Co., Ltd. established the Shionogi Antiviral Drug Research Division in the Hokkaido University International Joint Research Institute for Zoonosis.In response to the spread of the new coronavirus, Professor Hirofumi Kadozawa, Visiting Professor Akihiko Sato, and research staff of Shionogi & Co., Ltd., of the same research institute, were promoting the development of therapeutic drugs in the form of joint research.
In the future, Shionogi will proceed with obtaining official approval, and plans to conduct onset prevention tests targeting family members of infected patients and children under the age of 12.
