Year-ender: China's sci-tech achievements in 2022 (14)

Henan Biotech Ltd officially started production of Azvudine, an anti-COVID-19 oral medicine, in Pingdingshan, Central China's Henan province, on Aug 2, 2022. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

First homegrown antiviral joins virus battle

On July 25, China's first domestically developed COVID-19 antiviral Azvudine obtained emergency use authorization from the National Medical Products Administration, China's top drug regulator, and was included in the latest COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment guideline on Aug 9.

The oral drug, developed by the Genuine Biotech Co based in Henan province, contains 35 tablets per bottle with 1 milligram per tablet.

The guideline stipulates that the drug will be used to treat adult COVID-19 patients with moderate symptoms.

Azvudine was first approved in July 2021 to treat HIV patients, and was also found to be promising in tackling COVID-19.