Health

A unit of Japanese medical diagnostics company Miraca Holdings has applied for government approval of a coronavirus testing kit that can produce results much faster than current mainstay tests.

Japanese drugmaker Shionogi & Co. said Monday that it is developing a coronavirus vaccine with the help of insects and aiming to start clinical trials this year.

The coronavirus pandemic has thrust fresh attention onto the use of 3D printers as users try to find a low-cost and small-scale route to create much-needed supplies of face masks, face shields and even ventilators.

Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (TOKYO: 4519) announced that it is working to start a Phase III clinical trial in Japan with the humanized anti-human IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibody, “Actemra® Intravenous Infusion 80 mg, 200 mg, and 400 mg” [generic name: tocilizumab (genetical recombination)] in COVID-19 pneumonia.

Japanese cosmetics and household goods companies as well as alcoholic beverage makers are moving to increase production of hand disinfectant in response to a request by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to help alleviate shortages caused by heavy demand due to the coronavirus.

Suntory Holdings has begun dangling annual salaries in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to lure technology talent for its digital transformation, as the Japanese beverage maker leverages data to move beyond the 20th-century model of mass production for mass consumption.

Japanese biotech company Takara Bio plans to mass produce novel coronavirus vaccinations as early as this year, President and CEO Koichi Nakao told Nikkei in an interview.

Yamashin-Filter, a Japanese manufacturer of filters for construction machinery, has developed a high performance replaceable face mask insert boasting extended particle-blocking performance and plans to ramp up mass production of its own mask next month as demand for protection soars with the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Japan will begin a clinical trial of a blood plasma treatment for coronavirus patients as early as this month, joining the U.S., Canada and China in experimenting with the century-old treatment.

Japan's economy ministry and the National Institute of Product Evaluation Technology announced Wednesday that simple cleaners such as kitchen detergent may be effective disinfecting agents for the new coronavirus.