Wuhan hospital says HIV drug beneficial to Covid-19 patients

Dr Zhang Dingyu of Jinyintan Hospital gestures as he briefs journalists on the work of the hospital during the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province, Thursday, April 9, 2020. - AP

WUHAN (Reuters): Chinese doctors at the primary hospital treating severe coronavirus patients in the city of Wuhan said they have been using the HIV drug Kaletra since January and believe it is beneficial, despite a previous study that it was ineffective.

They have been prescribing Kaletra, an off-patent version of lopinavir/ritonavir produced by AbbVie, as well as a second drug, bismuth potassium citrate, said Dr Zhang Dingyu, the president of the Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan, where the disease originated late last year.