China authorized self-developed oral antiviral drug GST-HG171 for clinical trials for COVID-19 treatment, said the drug developer on Sunday, emphasizing the drug's effective antiviral capacity against the original variant, the Beta variant, the Delta variant, and the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants.

According to a statement released by Fujian Cosunter Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, the developer of the oral antiviral drug GST-HG171, the company got approval from the Chinese National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) on September 23.

GST-HG171 has been approved for clinical trials to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults, the statement said.

An inhibitor of the 3C-like protease in the coronavirus, the drug demonstrated excellent antiviral efficacy and safety in pre-clinical studies in animals, said Cosunter.

More than 10 self-developed oral drugs for COVID-19 treatment are currently being researched and developed in China.

On July 25, the NMPA granted conditional approval to Azvudine, the first Chinese-made oral antiviral drug to treat COVID-19, five months after giving conditional approval to Pfizer's COVID-19 treatment drug Paxlovid in February.