China clears HIV pill for COVID-19, marking 1st home-made pill against coronavirus
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China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) granted conditional approval to the country's first home-made COVID antiviral pill Azvudine developed by Genuine Biotech, which was previously approved to treat HIV.
The Chinese drug regulator approved the Henan-based company's Azvudine in July 2021 to treat patients with HIV-1 who have high viral load.
NMPA said's Azvudine conditional approval for the additional use was to treat adult patients with common novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19).
The drug will now compete with Pfizer's (NYSE:PFE) COVID antiviral Paxlovid which was approved in China in February.
Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group (OTCPK:SFOSF) is Genuine Biotech's exclusive partner for selling the antiviral pill in Mainland China, and could have right to expand to other markets in the future, according to a report from Bloomberg News.
Fosun was also among 35 drugmakers which were part of sub-licensing agreements, following UN-backed Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) contract with Pfizer to make generic versions of Paxlovid available to low and middle income countries.
Azvudine's conditional nod comes before a decision on Shanghai Junshi Biosciences (OTCPK:SHJBF) and Vigonvita Life Sciences' VV116, which was submitted in China.
VV116, a derivative of Gilead Sciences (GILD) remdesivir, met main goal of a phase 3 trial, which pitted the drug against Paxlovid. Another study, showed that the oral drug VV116 helped shed virus faster in certain patients with COVID-19.
Other notable COVID therapy makers: AstraZeneca (AZN) Eli Lilly (LLY).