China approves Genuine Biotech's HIV drug for COVID patients

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Monday gave conditional approval to domestic firm Genuine Biotech s Azvudine pill to treat certain adult patients with COVID-19, adding another oral treatment option against the coronavirus.

The availability of effective COVID vaccines and treatments is crucial in laying the groundwork for China s potential pivoting from its "dynamic COVID zero" policy, which aims to eliminate every outbreak - however small - and relies on mass testing and strict quarantining.

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The Azvudine tablet, which China approved in July last year to treat certain HIV-1 virus infections, has been given a conditional green light to treat adult patients with "normal type" COVID, the National Medical Products Administration said in a statement.

"Normal type" COVID is a term China uses to refer to coronavirus infections where there are signs of pneumonia, but the patients haven t reached a severe stage.

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China in February allowed the use of Pfizer s oral treatment Paxlovid in adults with mild-to-moderate COVID and high risk of progressing to a severe condition. In 2020, it approved the use of Lianhuaqingwen capsules, a traditional Chinese medicine-style formula, to alleviate symptoms of COVID such as fever and cough.

In a late-stage clinical trial, 40.4% of patients taking Azvudine showed improvement in symptoms seven days after first taking the drug, compared with 10.9% in the control group, Henan province-based Genuine Biotech said in a statement earlier this month, without providing detailed readings.