Development of novel coronavirus drugs achieves initial progress
By Qiu Chaoyi, People’s Daily
Initial progress has been achieved in drug development of the novel
coronavirus pneumonia, said the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of China’s
State Council at a press conference held Thursday, February 13.
According to Wu Yuanbin, an official in charge of technology in social
development with the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Chinese
scientists have successfully established animal models of novel coronavirus
infection and are accelerating the development and application of fast onsite
diagnostic reagents.
Positive progress has been achieved in screening drugs and making therapeutic
schemes, said Wu, adding that inactivated vaccine, nucleic acid vaccine and
recombinant vaccine are currently under research and development. The official
noted that bats are most likely the source of the novel coronavirus.
On Jan. 20, the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State
Council established a scientific research panel, Wu introduced, adding that the
MOST collaborated with 12 departments and ministries and established an expert
panel headed by academician Zhong Nanshan.
Zhang Xinmin, director of the China National Center for Biotechnology
Development, MOST told the press conference that based on multiple rounds of candidate
screening, the scientific research panel is now focusing on a batch of drugs
including Resochin, Remdesivir and Favipiravir as they have shown positive
effects in clinical treatment.
It is introduced that the scientific research panel has organized
studies on new technologies and products for treating patients in severe
conditions, including the sampling of plasma of cured patients. Eleven patients
in severe conditions from multiple hospitals received plasma treatment, and
their conditions showed large improvement without obvious side effects.
Besides, the panel has conducted clinical studies of stem cell technology which
also showed safe and effective results on severely ill patients.
The development of vaccines is a priority of the panel’s work, and the
panel is developing multiple candidate vaccines at the same time, including an
inactivated vaccine, mRNA vaccine, DNA vaccine, recombinant protein vaccine and
virus vector vaccine.
The panel is making its work as precise as possible, said Zhang,
adding that some vaccine varieties are currently undergoing animal testing.
The safety of the vaccines comes first, and the development must follow
scientific laws and strict regulations, Zhang explained, calling on the society
to allow more time for the scientists.
Development of novel coronavirus drugs achieves initial progress
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