On Sep. 22, Fujifilm (OTC: FUJIY) reported that a phase 3 clinical trial of its influenza pill, Avigan, showed the treatment's ability to reduce the recovery time of patients with mild cases of COVID-19. These results gave Fujifilm's stock a small bump of more than 4%, but the market's response was largely muted. Did the market properly price in Fujifilm's breakthrough, or is Avigan still a potential goldmine for long-term shareholders?
In my view, Avigan is not the drug that will make COVID-19 an inconvenience rather than a life-threatening disease. But, as with Gilead Sciences' (NASDAQ: GILD) underwhelming antiviral medicine remdesivir, Avigan's modest effectiveness at treating COVID-19 might be enough for future therapies to build on with combination treatments. Thus, in the long term, Avigan could deliver some value for Fujifilm's shareholders based on what we currently know about its efficacy. Let's analyze why this is the most likely case and see how investors should plan accordingly.
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Is Fujifilm's Avigan a Game-Changing Coronavirus Drug?