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BEIJING, Feb. 15-- Several antiviral drugs have been applied in clinical trials against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and some have shown fairly good clinical efficacy, according to an official Saturday. Chinese researchers have narrowed down their focus to a few existing drugs, including Chloroquine Phosphate, Favipiravir and Remdesivir, after multiple rounds of screening, said Zhang Xinmin, director of the China National Center for Biotechnology Development under the Ministry of Science and Technology, at a press conference on the new virus. In vitro experiments have shown that Chloroquine Phosphate, an antimalarial drug which has been widely used for many years, can effectively inhibit the novel coronavirus infection. It has been known to block virus infections by changing the acidity and basicity value inside the cell and interfering receptors of SARS coronavirus. It also shows immune-modulating activity, which may enhance its antiviral effect in vivo and is widely distributed in the whole body, including the lungs, after oral administration. It is now under clinical trials in more than 10 hospitals in Beijing and Guangdong, which enrolled a total of over 100 patients. Clinical trials on the drug will also be launched in central China's Hunan Province soon, Zhang said. The preliminary clinical results show that Chloroquine Phosphate is quite effective in treating novel coronavirus pneumonia, he said. | 
