EU secures emergency deliveries of potential treatment against Hantavirus through EU-Japan cooperation

The first doses of an experimental antiviral for Hantavirus treatment are being dispatched to France, Spain and the Netherlands to treat patients or run clinical trials. While there are currently no medicines or vaccines approved for Hantavirus treatment or prevention, the European Medicine Agency has identified Favipiravir as the most plausible candidate for use under clinical trial or compassionate use protocols. Its use will be decided by the Member States concerned.

The 1,400 tablets of Favipiravir were made available to EU Member States following a donation from FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical Co., Ltd. in Japan, and thanks to a strong EU-Japan partnership on health emergency preparedness and response. The donation was facilitated by the Japanese authorities and the Delegation of the European Union to Japan.

The Commission has been in continuous exchanges with Member States since the outbreak to assure swift access to potential medical countermeasures and have facilitated this dispatch of Favipriavir at the request of France, Spain, and the Netherlands.

Commissioner Lahbib said: “Solidarity and rapid action save lives. Thanks to close cooperation between the EU, Member States and our Japanese partners, we were able to rapidly secure access to potentially life-saving Hantavirus treatments for European patients. This shows the value of preparedness, cooperation and trusted global partnerships”.

In parallel, the Commission is launching emergency procurement procedures to ensure availability of additional doses in case further cases are confirmed in the coming weeks, thereby strengthening EU’s preparedness.