Three years since the first cluster of SARS-CoV-2 infections were reported in Wuhan, China has finally put the first nail in the coffin of its strict "COVID Zero" policies. But as Beijing begins to relax its most restrictive rules, citizens remain concerned about ballooning infections, while a low vaccination rate among seniors and vaccine fatigue appear to be dimming hopes of a quick revitalization of the hard-hit economy and bruised consumer confidence.

Unexpected protocol changes and a single-blind design for a Phase III head-to-head trial seem to have played to the advantage of Junshi’s oral derivative of Gilead’s antiviral remdesivir in COVID-19.

Junshi’s oral antiviral shows signs of effectiveness in treating patients with mild COVID-19 symptoms but more data are needed, caution researchers.

Simcere is weighing options for SIM0417 in a Phase I trial in China as the first major domestically-developed potential rival to Pfizer’s oral COVID-19 antiviral Paxlovid. The study is likely to include wider patient groups ranging from those without symptoms to severe patients.