Japanese firm behind Ebola drug says tests offer 'hope'

The Japanese company behind an experimental Ebola treatment says it offers new hope for thousands of people infected with the deadly virus in west Africa, but acknowledged it is "not a miracle drug".

In their first comments to media since the release of early clinical trials last week, executives from Fujifilm's drug unit Toyama Chemical said the results were a "good first step" that could lead to larger and better-designed trials.

Avigan -- approved for use in Japan as an influenza treatment -- was somewhat effective at saving the lives of Ebola patients if given early in the illness, but not later, according to the results presented to a US conference.

"They were better than my expectations," Fujifilm director Yuzo Toda said in an interview at the company's office in Tokyo.

"Taking this medicine as early as possible (means) the mortality rate can be significantly reduced. That sends a very strong message to the patient."

Testing began late last year, led by INSERM, the French Institute of Health and Medical Research, and is being funded by the European Commission.

The ongoing clinical trial in hard-hit Guinea -- dubbed Jiki, meaning hope in the local language -- is testing the drug on patients with Ebola, which causes severe vomiting, diarrhoea and sometimes fatal bleeding.

Results from only 80 people are available so far, but they show that among those who received the drug early in their illness, 15 percent died.

However, among those who received it when their viral load was high, 93 percent died, according to the preliminary results presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle, Washington. AFP