Chinese firm sends Ebola drug to Africa

A Chinese drug maker has sent several thousand doses of an experimental Ebola drug to Africa, which analysts say shows China's continuing efforts to combat the outbreak of the deadly disease.

The Sihuan Pharmaceutical Holdings Group has supplied several thousand doses of its drug JK-05 to countries in the region, the company's Chief Operating Officer Jia Zhongxin told Reuters on Thursday.

JK-05 has not been used on humans, although Sihuan says it has proved effective during tests on mice.

"Right now we're formulating a plan for clinical trials, and don't rule out the possibility of using African patients," Huo Caixia, Sihuan's assistant general manager, was quoted by Reuters as saying.

The drug was initially developed by the Academy of Military Medical Science (AMMS). Sihuan said it obtained approval from the military for mass production in August, and has just received merchandising rights from AMMS to bring the drugs to market in the future, reported the Financial Times.

The drug maker, China's self-proclaimed third-largest prescription drug firm, could not be reached for comment as of press time.

China has sent around 200 aid workers to Africa to provide help with the Ebola outbreak and has promised to grant more than $35 million in medical aid to the worst affected countries including Sierra Leone and Liberia. So far no Chinese nationals have been infected.

The outbreak in West Africa has killed more than 4,000 people this year.

The World Health Organization told the Global Times in an e-mail that it appreciates China's contribution to the fight against Ebola, but refused to comment on the effectiveness of JK-05 while it is still gathering data on the drug.

"It is still too early to evaluate on the effectiveness of the drug until it is tested on humans in large scale trials," Zhong Hongyue, a pharmaceutical analyst at consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, told the Global Times.

Song Ruilin, executive president of the China Pharmaceutical Industry Research and Development Association, said drug makers worldwide have been racing to find a cure, and that China too has shown an active interest in this cause.

"China's pharmaceutical research and development is the strongest among the world's developing countries and is catching up with the West," Song told the Global Times, citing the Sichuan-based Kanghong Pharmaceutical's success in developing a drug for age-related macular degeneration for which it has received domestic and international recognition.

"If this Chinese company's medicine proves effective, it would be an immense contribution to the international medical community," he said.

Separately, China on Thursday pledged at least 100 million yuan's ($16 million) worth of additional aid to help West Africa fight the deadly Ebola outbreak, Xinhua reported.