Five drugs are being tested to treat coronavirus pneumonia.

In addition to vaccines, Chinese scientists are racing against time to find a cure for coronavirus pneumonia (Covid-19).

On February 5th, health officials authorized trials of the American drug Remdesivir for the treatment of pneumonia caused by the coronavirus. This decision was made by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), the National Health Commission, and the National Medical Products Administration.

In clinical trials, the drug proved effective in treating mice with SARS, reducing viral replication within two days. Remdesivir was also used to treat Ebola, which ravaged West Africa in 2014, and was deemed safe. Following the Ebola outbreak, researchers gained valuable information.

Biologically, Remdesivir's therapeutic target for nCoV is similar to that of SARS and other coronaviruses, even effective against the most unique strain, porcine deltacoronavirus. Another report shows that Remdesivir has the ability to prevent the coronavirus from infecting cells in laboratory settings, offering renewed hope to scientists.

According to experts, Remdesivir is considered a leading "candidate" in the fight against nCoV. The drug is not yet licensed for production or sale anywhere in the world. If trials are successful, it could be the first effective treatment for Covid-19.

In addition to Remdesivir, Chinese scientists are testing a combination of two HIV antibiotics, Ritonavir and Lopinavir, developed by the biopharmaceutical company AbbVie and marketed under the trade name Kaletra. This announcement was made on February 12th during a meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Many patients are currently being treated with a combination of these two drugs, but the WHO does not have specific statistics. Experts are also uncertain about the drug's effectiveness in treating nCoV. However, "it would be wonderful if the drug could cure the disease, because it has already been used to treat HIV and is available as a generic drug on the market," said Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, a former WHO virologist.

On February 16th, the National Medical Products Administration authorized the use of Favilavir, an antimalarial drug whose first batch had been produced, for the treatment of Covid-19. On the same day, the Zhejiang provincial government also announced the addition of Favilavir to the treatment protocol for patients with pneumonia caused by the coronavirus.

According to China's Ministry of Science and Technology, Favilavir is undergoing clinical trials and has shown significant effectiveness in treating the novel coronavirus. This is the first COVID-19 treatment drug approved for market sale by China's National Medical Products Administration since the outbreak began.

On February 17, Chinese medical experts agreed to include Chloroquine Phosphate in the treatment protocol for Covid-19. According to Ms. Sun Yanrong, Chloroquine Phosphate was selected from tens of thousands of existing drugs and underwent dozens of screenings before being tested to treat pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus. The drug has been used for over 70 years and is currently being tested at 10 hospitals in Beijing and the provinces of Guangdong and Hunan in China.

Over 100 patients who tried Chloroquine Phosphate showed clear improvements in their health, such as reduced fever and improved lung X-ray images. This group of patients also had faster recovery times and experienced no side effects from the medication.

Furthermore, Xu Nanping, Vice Minister of Science and Technology of China, also confirmed that traditional Chinese medicine has been proven effective in reducing the likelihood of infection. Previously, Chinese health officials officially added traditional Chinese medicine to phase three of the Covid-19 treatment and diagnosis plan.