TheChina-JapanFriendshipHospitalinBeijingwillbeginclinicaltrialson270mildlyandmoderatelyillpatientsinfectedwiththenovelcoronavirususinganexperimentaldrugfromtheUnitedStatesclaimedtohavesuccessfullytreatedacaseintheUS.
ThePhaseIIIclinicaltrialwillrunfromFeb3toApril27.ItisadministeredbydoctorCaoBinfromtheBeijinghospitalandthetrialwillbecarriedoutinWuhan,Hubeiprovince,epicenteroftheoutbreak,thehospitalsaidinanonlinestatementonSunday.
Thedrugintrialiscalledremdesivir,developedbyUSbiotechcompanyGileadSciences.ThemedicinewasgiventothefirstUScase,a35-yearoldmanwhotestedpositiveforthevirus,whosepneumoniasymptomsappearedtoimprovewithinadaywithnoobvioussideeffectsafterthedrugwasadministered,accordingtoapaperpublishedintheNewEnglandJournalofMedicinelastweek.
ThedrugmakersaidinanonlinestatementonFridaythedrugis"notyetlicensedorapprovedanywheregloballyandhasnotbeendemonstratedtobesafeoreffectiveforanyuse".However,thedrugwasapprovedforuseoncompassionategroundsandtherequestofphysicians,itadded.
Atthesametime,thecompanysaiditisworkingwithhealthauthoritiesinChinatoestablishaclinicaltrialtodeterminewhetherremdesivircansafelyandeffectivelybeusedtotreatthecoronavirus.
TheCenterforDrugEvaluationoftheNationalMedicalProductsAdministrationinChinahasreceivedandapprovedtheapplicationonSundaytocarryouttheexperiment,accordingtoitsofficialwebsite.