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Chinese firm surges 229% in Hong Kong after claims its Covid drug reduces deaths and hospitalisation: Report

WION Web Team
Hong KongUpdated: Apr 06, 2022, 05:21 PM IST
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An MTR (Mass Transit Railway) employee hands out a pack of face masks as people leave after receiving the Sinovac Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination centre set up inside a train station in Hong Kong on March 11, 2022. Photograph:(AFP)

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Kintor announced the top-line results of the Phase III MRCT of proxalutamide in outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19 regardless of vaccination status and risk factors 

Hong Kong is facing a coronavirus (COVID-19) surge with reports of bodies being "piled up together" for funerals and authorities are running short of traditional wooden coffins. 

As reported by the news agency Reuters, Hong Kong has recorded more than a million infections and more than 8,000 deaths since the fifth wave of coronavirus hit the global financial hub. 

Amid the rise in cases, some pharma firms are making profits globally. For example, the latest data by Bloomberg shows how Chinese Pharma firm Kintor Pharmaceutical Ltd surged to 229 per cent in Hong Kong. 

The rise was witnessed after the firm stated its drug reduces Covid deaths and is quite effective in reducing the risk of hospitalisation. The comments raised the prospect of a first homegrown antiviral treatment. 

The Bloomberg report published on April 6 stated that shares of the company were up 141 per cent as of 11:06 am (local time) after earlier surging as much as 229 per cent. This is said to be the biggest jump after the company got listed in Hong Kong in mid-2020. 

All this has happened after the company released a statement related to its effectiveness. Kintor announced the top-line results of the Phase III MRCT of proxalutamide in outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19 regardless of vaccination status and risk factors. 

As per the statement, data from the study demonstrated that the protection rate of patients in the trial (regardless of age or risk factors) treated with proxalutamide for more than seven days reached 100% (p < 0.02). 

"The treatment with proxalutamide significantly reduced hospitalization or death in COVID-19 patients, especially in the middle-aged and elderly with high-risk factors," the statement added. 

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