A new COVID drug from China has been proved to be as effective as Pfizer's Paxlovid in a clinical trial published by medical journal The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) on Wednesday.

According to the writer of the trial result, VV116 is an oral version of remdesivir, whose intravenous version is recommended by the World Health Organization as a COVID-19 treatment.

It's obvious that pills are easier to take than drips, and that's why many organizations and companies are trying to make remdesivir pills.

The trial recruited over 820 people, giving VV116 to 384 of them and Paxlovid to other 387.

The result showed that VV116 was "non-inferior" to Paxlovid with respect to the time to sustained clinical recovery.

What's more, the new drug has fewer safety concerns, the paper said. 

The research paper noted that the conclusion only works for adults with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who were at risk of progression, which is also true for Paxlovid.

As CGTN Digital last checked on Thursday, the trial result was the sticky post on the homepage of NEJM's official website, marking importance of the trial.

As more Chinese people are infected by COVID-19 viruses after the country optimized its control measures, medicines that target the disease are much needed.

The NEJM article also mentioned that nirmatrelvir–ritonavir, also known as the brand name Paxlovid, is short in supply on global scale, resulting in a demand for other treatment.

VV116 was developed by China's Junshi Biosciences, whose stock in Shanghai closed 11.05 percent higher on Thursday.

VV116 is not the only Chinese medicine with the potential to become a COVID-19 treatment. Drug authority in east China's Jiangsu Province said on Monday that they are working to help Xiannuoxin, a COVID drug from Simcere Pharmaceutical, enter the Chinese market as early as February 2023. The drug targets the 3CL protease like what Paxlovid does.