Coronavirus: China pulls the plug on wasteful, unnecessary research into Covid-19

As scientists around the world race to develop medicines to fight the deadly disease, Beijing is keen to prevent vital resources being squandered on unworthy projects

Clinical researchers told by science ministry to justify their projects or face having them shut down

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China’s scientific researchers have been told to justify their work as Beijing seeks to make best use of its precious resources. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 3:40pm, 5 Apr 2020Updated: 11:04pm, 5 Apr 2020

Chinese teams engaged in clinical research related to the coronavirus pandemic and the treatment of Covid-19 have been told they must submit detailed information about their work to the government within three days of commencement or face having their projects shut down.

In a notice issued on Friday, the Ministry of Science and Technology also said that research projects that “breached existing pharmaceutical regulations, had negative side effects or no obvious efficacy” should be terminated.

The order comes as Beijing seeks to rein in unnecessary trials that waste resources amid a global push to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus and other medicines to treat Covid-19, the disease it causes.

As of Sunday morning, there had been more than 1.2 million confirmed cases around the world and close to 65,000 deaths.

Wu Yuanbin, a senior official with the science ministry, raised his concerns about the risk of excessive research back in February.

“Too many drug trials can create the problem of wasting resources, or even affect the treatment of patients,” he said.

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