China’s homegrown virus pill could offer a pivot from Covid zero

Most of China's Covid-19 drug development efforts have focused on antibody therapies that neutralise the virus. - AFP

BEIJING (Bloomberg): Where will newly developed Covid pills be needed the most? Rather than pandemic hot spots, it’ll be a place where the virus has yet to gain a sustained foothold: China.

That’s the take from Tong Youzhi, chief executive officer at Kintor Pharmaceutical Ltd., a Chinese company working on just such a product.

After successfully containing the virus with mass testing, surveillance and rigid border curbs, China is now uniquely vulnerable to the novel pathogen and needs access to effective treatments if outbreaks worsen.