China race for Covid-19 pill treatment hit by low hospital cases

Late-stage clinical trials for Kintor Pharma’s experimental drug misses statistical criteria because of ‘changing conditions’ in US

But analysis shows no safety concerns and no serious adverse events for the drug, which is being tested in several countries

Reading Time:2 minutes

Kintor Pharma, maker of China’s leading candidate for a pill-based Covid-19 treatment, will seek to amend late-trial protocols for further testing. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 12:45pm, 28 Dec 2021Updated: 4:31pm, 28 Dec 2021

China’s front-running experimental drug to treat Covid-19 has suffered a setback, with a late-stage trial on outpatients failing because of a low number of hospitalisations.

Kintor Pharma’s candidate Proxalutamide – administered as a simple pill – has been undergoing phase 3 trials in the US, Brazil, China and the European Union to test its safety and efficacy for prostate and breast cancers, as well as Covid-19.

“Statistical criteria were not met at an interim analysis of the phase 3 outpatient study,” the company announced on Monday night. However, the analysis did show there were no safety concerns and no serious adverse events reported which related to the drug, Kintor added.

The interim analysis involved 348 patients with mild-to-moderate Covid-19 symptoms from the US, where the hospitalisation rate is “very low”, the company said.

Kintor’s chairman and CEO Tong Youzhi said the results were related to the changed Covid-19 situation in the US.

Speaking to Chinese financial news site Yicai, he said vaccination had reduced the number of severe cases in the US and the treatment environment for patients with the illness was also improving. Patients are now younger, and young people fare better than the elderly with Covid-19, Tong said.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x