In order to combat the ongoing coronavirus outbreak and treat the infection, a Chinese drugmaker has started mass-producing an experimental drug that can potentially fight the new coronavirus.
China has accelerated its effort to find a treatment for the illness caused by the new virus.
Earlier this week, the World Health Organization named the disease caused by new coronavirus as COVID-19.
BrightGene Bio-Medical Technology, a leading Chinese biopharmaceutical company, said on Tuesday that it has started developing the active pharmaceutical drug of remdesivir, a drug developed by Gilead Sciences, an American biotechnology company.
Remdesivir has been found effective at treating the highly contagious COVID-19. However, the drug is not yet approved anywhere in the world.
BrightGene said that it is intending to license the drug from Gilead. However, its move to start manufacturing the drug at this early stage is quite unusual. In fact, it is a potential infringement of Gilead’s intellectual property.
Chinese researchers have filed an application to patent the drug in order to treat the infection caused by the new coronavirus, a move that would allow China to use the therapy to stop the spread of the virus.
Many large areas in China have been affected by the new coronavirus and remdesivir has been seen as a potential breakthrough after it was found to be effective on infected patients in the United States.
Chinese researchers will be testing the drug in humans in Wuhan.
BrightGene said the company will license the patent from Gilead to conduct clinical trials and get regulatory approvals before it sells the drug in the market.
Last week, Gilead said it has invented the drug and patented it in China. The company also said that it has been working with the FDA, the WHO, and Chinese health officials to rapidly determine whether remdesivir can be used to treat the infection caused by COVID-19.
