Clinical Trial of Ganovo® and Ritonavir Combination Therapy on Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia

HANGZHOU and SHAOXING, China, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascletis Pharma Inc. (HKEX code: 1672) announces today the advancement in Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia clinical trial of oral Ganovo® and Ritonavir combination therapy, led by Dr. Hongyi CHEN, the director of the Ninth Hospital of Nanchang. Three patients have been discharged from the hospital after such treatment as they are satisfied with the discharge standards under the "Diagnosis and Treatment Program for Novel Coronavirus Infection (Trial Version 6)" issued by the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China, and other enrolled patients are being treated.

On February 16, 2020, the clinical trial obtained approval from the ethics committee of the Ninth Hospital of Nanchang. The first patient diagnosed with the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia was enrolled for the treatment of Ganovo® and Ritonavir combination therapy on February 17, 2020. Dr. Hongyi CHEN is the director of the first infection department in the Ninth Hospital of Nanchang, and the chairman of the Professional Committee on Infectious Diseases of the Jiangxi Association of Integrative Medicine.

Ganovo®, an oral Hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease inhibitor, was approved by the National Medical Products Administration for market launch in June 2018, which is used to treat chronic Hepatitis C. Ganovo® is the first Direct-acting Anti-viral Agent (DAA) developed by a domestic company in China and has been selected as a National Science and Technology Major Project for "Innovative Drug Development".

The article, "Therapeutic options for the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) ", published by the British magazine, Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, on February 10, 2020 suggests that existing anti-HIV and anti-HCV drugs may have inhibitory effects against novel coronavirus.

"We are excited that Ascletis, as a leading Chinese pharmaceutical company in anti-viral field, with years of technical precipitation, the developed anti-viral drugs now is being used in clinical studies on the treatment of HCP," said Dr. Jinzi J. Wu, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Ascletis, "and expect Ascletis could contribute more in anti-HCP drugs' development and application."

About Ascletis

Ascletis is an innovative R&D driven biotech with two commercial products and listed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange (Ascletis, 1672.HK). Ascletis is committed to developing and commercializing antiviral, steatohepatitis, and tumor-related innovative drugs for unmet medical needs in China and Globally. Led by a management team with deep expertise and a proven track record, Ascletis has developed into a fully integrated platform covering the entire value chain from discovery and development to manufacturing and commercialization. Ascletis' pipeline is focused primarily on three therapeutic areas: 1. HCV: one commercial stage product, one near commercial stage drug and two R&D stage drug candidates. Ganovo® (Danoprevir) is the first direct-acting anti-viral agent for hepatitis C, developed by a domestic firm in China. 2. HBV: one commercial stage product and three R&D stage drug candidates. Pegasys® (Peginterferon alfa-2a) is a leading marketed pegylated interferon for hepatitis B&C partnered with Roche. 3. NASH (Non-Alcoholic SteatoHepatitis): three R&D stage drug candidates against three different targets for combination treatments. For more information, please visit www.ascletis.com.

SOURCE Ascletis Pharma Inc.