UpdateChina pharmaceutical firm sends Ebola drug to Africa, eyes clinical trials
Possible Ebola treatment sent to Africa for clinical trials and for use by Chinese aid workers should they contract the disease but may also be used on African victims
A Chinese pharmaceutical firm with military ties has sent an experimental Ebola drug to Africa for use by Chinese aid workers and is planning clinical trials there to combat the disease, executives at the firm told reporters on Thursday.
Sihuan Pharmaceutical Holdings Group has supplied several thousand doses of its drug JK-05 to the region, Chief Operating Officer Jia Zhongxin said. More doses could be sent if needed, Jia said.
An Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the worst on record, has killed as many as 4,500 people.
Governments and drugmakers around the world have been racing to find a treatment for the outbreak, which has spread as far as the United States and Europe. US President Barack Obama pledged on Wednesday to get more “aggressive” against the disease.
“Aid workers have already taken the drug with them, and if a case breaks out [amongst the aid workers], then the drug may be used,” added Huo Caixia, Sihuan’s assistant general manager.
Sihuan, part-owned by US investment bank Morgan Stanley, is hoping to get the drug fast-tracked for civilian use in China. It has signed an agreement with the Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS), a research unit, to seek approval for the drug’s use in China and push it to market.