Henan Company Begins Production on COVID-19 Oral Drug

Henan Biotech Ltd officially started production of Azvudine, an anti-COVID-19 oral medicine, in Pingdingshan, Central China's Henan province, on Aug 2, 2022. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Henan Biotech Ltd officially started production of Azvudine, an anti-COVID-19 oral medicine, after a launch ceremony in Pingdingshan city of the central Chinese province on Tuesday, a milestone in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company's production base in Pingdingshan has passed compliance inspection of drug production quality management specifications organized by the Henan Medical Products Administration in May, indicating the company has gained the license to produce the drug.

Henan Biotech Ltd officially started production of Azvudine, an anti-COVID-19 oral medicine, in Pingdingshan, Central China's Henan province, on Aug 2, 2022. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The production base, which covers an area of 32,000 square meters, will be able to annually produce more than 3 billion tablets in the upcoming years.

Currently the product specification is 1 milligram according to Zhu Guoshan, director of the company's production department.

Space has also been reserved in production workshops and lines for more equipment to further expand production to meet market demands in the future, Zhu said.

Wang Chaoyang, founder of the company, said his company would enhance quality management for medicines produced at his company in the months to come.

Henan Biotech Ltd officially started production of Azvudine, an anti-COVID-19 oral medicine, in Pingdingshan, Central China's Henan province, on Aug 2, 2022. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]