Successful clinical trial of Chinese Covid-19 medicine announced

KARACHI, January 17: Karachi University’s International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) on Monday announced successful completion of clinical trials of Chinese medicine for treatment of Covid-19 patients. Clinical trial of Chinese medicine ‘Jinhua Qinggan Granules’ (JHQG) completed in collaboration with a Chinese company. JHQG is traditional Chinese medicine used for the treatment of Covid-19 patients in China. A ceremony for public announcement of completion of the trial was held at the ICCBS of the University of Karachi, attended by Dr Iqbal Choudhary, director of the ICCBS, a representative of the Chinese embassy and others. Dr. Ataur Rehman, a member of the PM’s task force and Sindh’s health minister Dr. Azra Pechuho joined the gathering online. Dr. Raza Shah, head of the clinical trial, told the gathering that coronavirus patients between 18 to 60 years of age were involved in the trial. “The medicine found to be 70 percent effective in clinical trials,” he said. “Total 300 patients were part of the trial including 189 male patients”, he said. JHQG is being used for treatment of coronavirus patients in China. The medicine ends symptoms of the disease and maximum quarantine period of a patient reduced to one week, the doctor said. -NNI