When the Covid19 epidemic struck Iceland in March 2020 Takanawa decided to offer, pro bono, assistance to the National University Hospital, Iceland, in obtaining products from Japan that were in demand at that time and unavailable for many countries.

The results were:
1) Avigan (favipiravir) from Fujifilm, regarded as one of two most effective pharmaceutical products against Covid19, as a gift from Japan’s Government. Enough to treat 100 very sick Icelandic patients.
2) 60.000 swabs and 60.000 virus transfer medium from Japan. This turned out to be the largest part of swabs the National Hospital would use during the epidemic. Iceland has been able to control the coronavirus well, not least thanks to large scale testing.
- Takanawa would not have been able to provide the drug Avigan without strong support from Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, H.E. Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson, and his staff in Iceland and Japan, Iceland's Minister of Health, H.E. Svandis Svavarsdottir, and Japan's Ambassador in Iceland.
- Also not least without great cooperation with the amazing doctors, pharmacologists and other medical and administrative staff of the National University Hospital of Iceland.

- Finally, this would not have happened without the amazing good will Japan has shown Iceland here and during the last decades.

News about this in the media can be seen here: Icelandic, English, Japanese

Interview with Bolli Thoroddsen, CEO of Takanawa, in Morgunblaðið, Icelandic news paper

DHL shipment with a message to Iceland: "お互いに頑張りましょう！！Let´s both try our best!!"