Chinese firm Kintor Pharma says its Covid-19 pill cut risk of hospitalisation, death in trial

Antiviral drug candidate found to reduce risk of hospitalisation or death by 50 to 100 per cent compared to control group

Clinical trial involved more than 700 patients, mostly in the US, but it was not clear which variant of the virus they had

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Kintor Pharmaceutical plans to apply for emergency use authorisation or approval in China, the US and elsewhere. Photo: Shutterstock Images

Published: 7:00am, 7 Apr 2022

Chinese biotech firm Kintor Pharmaceutical on Wednesday said its experimental Covid-19 pill effectively cut the risk of hospitalisation or death in a trial of outpatients with mild to moderate illness.

The phase 3 trial showed the antiviral drug reduced the risk of hospitalisation or death by 50 to 100 per cent compared to the control group, depending on the length of treatment, the company said in a statement.

The 733 patients, mostly in the United States, were recruited regardless of vaccination status and risk factors. They were given either 200mg of the experimental drug – called Proxalutamide – or a placebo once daily for 14 days in a row.

The Suzhou-based firm said the treatment also “significantly and continuously reduced” viral load and improved symptoms such as fever, shortness of breath and cough in the trial, which also indicated the drug was safe and well-tolerated.

“Proxalutamide has [shown] Covid-19 viral load reduction against both Delta and Omicron variants, which is important as new variants continue to arise,” Kintor’s chairman and CEO Tong Youzhi said. The firm did not specify which variant the patients in the trial were infected with in its statement.

Tong added that the company “plans to actively apply for emergency use authorisation [or] approvals from healthcare authorities in China, the United States and other countries”.

Kintor said the drug was suitable for Covid-19 patients with early symptoms and those hospitalised or with severe illness. The drug works by inhibiting the entry of the virus into host cells in patients with early symptoms, while clearing pathogens and decreasing inflammation in severe cases, it said.