Here is the drug that could affect the flu in a single day

A Japanese pharmaceutical company has developed an experimental drug that can kill the influenza virus in just one day (with only one dose). In Japan, it could come into commerce as early as May, while for other nations it is discussed next year

In the midst of one of the worst flu seasons in recent years, a definite (perhaps) definitive remedy for influenza comes directly from Japan. It is a drug, not yet available on the market, developed by the Japanese pharmaceutical company Shionogi, which would be able to kill the influenza virus with a single dose and in a single day. The experimental drug in question, called balboxavir marboxil, would act faster than any other drug available today: according to the tests, in fact, the average time taken by the compound to eliminate the virus in adults is just over 24 hours, compared to 72 hours of all other flu drugs on the market, as for example oseltamivir (Tamiflu).

The new drug works through a different biological mechanism than that of oseltamivir, which is an inhibitor of neuraminidases, enzymes that the virus uses to reproduce in infected cells. On the contrary, to synthesize balboxavir marboxil, the researchers started from a drug against HIV: precisely, it is an inhibitor of the endonuclease, thus preventing the replication of the virus. Another difference is in the administration: for the new drug a single dose would be enough, compared to 10 doses of oseltamivir (two daily doses for five days). An advantage that, according to Japanese researchers, is not necessarily just of convenience. "The drug consists of just one pill, so this could be an advantage, particularly to avoid planning a therapy," co-developer Daniel O'Day told Bloomberg.

According to the Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun, the drug, which will be able to fight both the A and B strains, received at the beginning of February the go-ahead from the Japanese government's ministerial commission for the production and sale of the drug. The formal approval should arrive next month, which means that the treatment could be available as early as May. For other nations, however, the speech is still unclear: according to the Wall Street Journal, Shionogi (along with Roche, the Tamiflu producer, who will have the rights to sell the drug internationally) will request approval to sell the drug in the United States and Europe for the next year.