As nations race to develop treatments and vaccines for Covid-19, Japan has become a victim of its own success as slowing new infections has led to a shortage of patients to enroll in clinical trials.
Clinical trials are underway for more than a dozen potential vaccines, including at least six in China, but Japan’s first human trials are expected to start next month.
“Due to the decreasing number of coronavirus infections, we believe it will take some time before clinical research is completed,” said Tetsuya Nakamura, who is running a trial of Avigan at Gunma University Hospital in central Japan.
