Asia Anti-infective medicines
Anti-infectives: drugs against viruses, bacteria and fungi.
8Tracked assets
8Approved
How this track works
Anti-infective drugs target viruses, bacteria and fungi. Japanese companies have led several firsts, including baloxavir, a single-dose flu drug with a new mechanism, and cefiderocol, an antibiotic that slips into resistant bacteria by hijacking their iron uptake. China built a domestic antiviral industry during COVID-19 and has its own once-weekly HIV injection, albuvirtide. Drug-resistant bacteria remain a major unmet need, but antibiotics earn little, so new ones often depend on public funding and access partnerships.
Development stage
Approved8 8
Origin country / region
Japan4 4
China4 4
Assets
| Rank | Asset | INN | Originator | Country | Targets | Mechanism | Highest stage | Indication | Trial IDs | Overseas rights holder | Deal date | Upfront | Total ceiling | Latest event | Latest event date | Sources | Source date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Favipiravir (Avigan) | favipiravir | Toyama Chemical (now FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical) | Japan | Viral RNA polymerase | RNA polymerase inhibitor | Approved — Japan (2014-03; restricted influenza use) | Novel/re-emerging influenza (restricted indication); SFTS (Japan approval 2024-06) | jRCT2061240089 | Dr. Reddy's Laboratories / Global Response Aid (2020 overseas development/commercialisation alliance; current status not fully verified) | 2020-06 (agreement month; announced 2020-07-01) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Company pipeline records Japan approval for SFTS in June 2024 | 2024-06 | 1 2 3 4 5 | 2024-06 |
| 2 | Baloxavir marboxil (Xofluza; S-033188) | baloxavir marboxil | Shionogi & Co., Ltd. | Japan | Influenza cap-dependent endonuclease | Cap-dependent endonuclease inhibitor | Approved — Japan (2018-02) | Treatment of influenza; post-exposure prophylaxis (jurisdiction-specific labels) | NCT02954354 | NCT07827599 | Roche / Genentech (worldwide excluding Japan and Taiwan) | 2016-02-29 | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | New baloxavir post-exposure prophylaxis Phase 3 study registry updated; recruiting | 2026-10-22 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | 2026-10-22 |
| 3 | Albuvirtide (Aikening; ABT) | albuvirtide | Frontier Biotechnologies Inc. | China | HIV-1 fusion | Long-acting HIV-1 fusion inhibitor | Approved — China (2018-05) | HIV-1 infection with other antiretrovirals in treatment-experienced patients | NCT02369965 | None reported | — | — | — | TALENT albuvirtide Phase 3 registry updated; completed | 2021-10-06 | 1 2 3 | 2021-10-06 |
| 4 | Cefiderocol (Fetroja / Fetcroja; S-649266) | cefiderocol | Shionogi & Co., Ltd. | Japan | Bacterial cell-wall synthesis | Siderophore cephalosporin antibacterial | Approved — United States (2019-11) | Complicated urinary tract infections; hospital/ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (jurisdiction-specific labels) | NCT02714595 | GARDP / sublicensees (135-country access licence); Shionogi group retains other markets | 2022-06-15 | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Shionogi announced China NMPA approval for complicated urinary tract infections | 2026-01-08 | 1 2 3 4 5 | 2026-01-08 |
| 5 | Azvudine | azvudine | Henan Genuine Biotech Co., Ltd. | China | HIV-1 reverse transcriptase / Vif | Nucleoside reverse-transcriptase and Vif inhibitor (HIV indication) | Approved — China (2021-07; conditional) | HIV-1 infection (combination therapy); COVID-19 (China conditional approval 2022-07) | NCT04303598 | None reported | — | — | — | Company history records April 2026 application to convert HIV conditional approval to regular approval | 2026-04 | 1 2 3 | 2026-04 |
| 6 | Ensitrelvir (Xocova; S-217622) | ensitrelvir | Shionogi & Co., Ltd. / Hokkaido University | Japan | SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease | 3CL protease inhibitor | Approved — Japan (2022-11; emergency; standard 2024-03) | COVID-19 treatment (Japan); post-exposure prophylaxis (United States approval 2026) | NCT05897541 | Medicines Patent Pool (117-country voluntary licence); Juniper Therapeutics / Therapeutix (Singapore; via Shionogi Hong Kong, formerly Ping An-Shionogi) | 2022-10-04 (MPP); 2023-12-06 (Juniper normal-approval/sales rights; disclosed 2023-12-19) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | SCORPIO-PEP Phase 3 registry updated; completed, after US post-exposure prophylaxis approval | 2026-10-07 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 | 2026-10-07 |
| 7 | Simnotrelvir / ritonavir (Xiannuoxin; SIM0417) | simnotrelvir / ritonavir | Simcere Pharmaceutical / Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica / Wuhan Institute of Virology | China | SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease | 3CL protease inhibitor co-packaged with ritonavir | Approved — China (2023-01; conditional; regular 2024-07) | Mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults | NCT05506176 | None reported | — | — | — | Company announced conversion to regular China approval (announcement refers to July 11, 2024) | 2024-07-23 | 1 2 3 | 2024-07-23 |
| 8 | Leritrelvir (RAY1216; Leruiling) | leritrelvir | Guangdong Raynovent Biotech | China | SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease | Oral 3CL protease inhibitor | Approved — China (2023-03; conditional) | Mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults | NCT05620160 | None reported | — | — | — | Company year-end review records December 2023 national reimbursement-list inclusion | 2023-12-13 | 1 2 3 4 | 2024-01-03 |