Kintor Soars On COVID Antiviral Data But Results' Significance Still Unclear

Chinese firm Kintor disclosed findings from a pivotal Phase III trial showing its androgen receptor antagonist proxalutamide achieved a 50% reduction in risk of hospitalization or death in COVID-19 patients with mild-to-moderate infection, although uncertainty remains over it being “unable to provide” a p-value in some data analyses.

China oral antiviral
proxalutamide among China's first oral antiviral candidates for COVID-19 • Source: Alamy

Hong Kong-listed Kintor Pharmaceutical Ltd. on 6 April released top-line results from a placebo-controlled, pivotal clinical trial to study its oral COVID-19 antiviral proxalutamide, marking one of the first attempts by a Chinese firm to investigate such a candidate in an international Phase III study.

A repurposed androgen receptor-targeting prostate cancer drug, proxalutamide was studied in 733 non-hospitalized patients enrolled from April to December 2021,...

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