Coronavirus treatment weeks away, drugmaker says
A coronavirus treatment is four to six weeks away
While health officials work to contain the rapidly spreading coronavirus, one drug developer claims that it is very close to having a workable treatment in hand.
NanoViricides President Anil Diwan told FOX Business’ Stuart Varney that it is between four to six weeks away from having a “candidate.” He also said that it has its own “GMP manufacturing capability which can supply thousands of patients” that will take an additional four weeks to produce.
CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK CAUSES AMERICAN AIRLIFT OF CITIZENS FROM CHINA
China has confirmed more than 4,500 cases of a new virus, with 106 deaths. Most have been in the central city of Wuhan where the outbreak began in December. More than 50 cases have been confirmed in other places with nearly all of them involving Chinese tourists or people who visited Wuhan recently. Five cases were reported in the U.S. and officials are urging citizens to avoid nonessential travel to China.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NNVC | NANOVIRICIDES | 1.42 | +0.06 | +4.41% |
Diwan said although the drug has not yet reached human trials, he believes the company is in “comfortable shape” if the World Trade Organization and other agencies “decide that an exploratory treatment is something that should go forward” in order to bring it into the hands of people within two to three months.
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Diwan noted that even though the virus evolves very quickly, NanoViricides discovered a way to make the “drug continue to work.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.