BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese researchers have been screening treatments for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Here are some treatments that have been found to have the potential to defeat the virus, with some having entered clinical trials and some being suggested in treatment guidelines.
-- CHLOROQUINE
Chloroquine, a widely used anti-malaria and autoimmune disease drug, has been used for more than 70 years.
Chloroquine Phosphate, phosphate salt of chloroquine, has been under clinical trials in over 10 hospitals in Beijing, as well as in southern China's Guangdong Province and central China's Hunan Province, and has shown fairly good efficacy, a Chinese official with the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) said at a press conference Monday.
The experts, based on the result of clinical trials, have "unanimously" suggested the drug be included in the next version of treatment guidelines and applied in wider clinical trials as soon as possible, said the official.
-- FAVIPIRAVIR
Favipiravir, an antiviral drug active against viruses like influenza, West Nile and yellow fever, has been put into a clinical trial in Shenzhen, southern China's Guangdong Province, with 70 patients enlisted, said an official with the Ministry of Science and Technology said at a press conference Saturday.
The initial outcome of the trial shows the drug has relatively obvious efficacy and low adverse reactions.
Three to four days after treatment, the group that took the drug had a significantly higher turning-negative rate in the viral nucleic acid test than the parallel control group.
-- REMDESIVIR
Remdesivir is a drug developed by U.S. pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences.
It has shown good antiviral activity against SARS and MERS coronavirus in previous cell and animal experiments. Its clinical trials against Ebola infections have been conducted abroad. It has also shown fairly good antiviral activity against the COVID-19 at the cellular level.
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial started on Feb. 6 in several hospitals in Wuhan, and about 66 percent of the patients enrolled in the trial will have a chance to take the antiviral drug.
The trial will last until the end of April.
-- CONVALESCENT PLASMA
Convalescent plasma, processed from the plasma collected from recovered COVID-19 patients, contains a large number of protective antibodies.
A total of 11 severe patients from several hospitals in Wuhan have received the convalescent plasma therapy, with all their clinical indicators getting better and no obvious adverse reactions.
One patient treated by the therapy has been discharged from the hospital, said the official from the Ministry of Science and Technology said.
Experts said that most recovered patients will produce protective antibodies and called on them to donate plasma to help other patients who are still in danger.
-- TCM
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been proven effective in treating COVID-19 patients, a Chinese health official said Monday.
TCM has been used in treating 60,107 confirmed cases in China, or 85.2 percent of the total.
A TCM decoction named "Qingfei Paidutang" has been used in treating 701 confirmed cases in 10 provinces, of which 130 have been cleared for discharge, an official with the National Administration of TCM said Monday.
The decoction has been recommended to medical institutions nationwide on Feb. 6 after data analysis on 214 cases.
