(Yicai) Jan. 27 -- Chinese researchers have demonstrated that the oral nucleoside drug VV116, which is already approved for treating Covid-19 in China and Uzbekistan, exhibits significant activity against the Nipah virus, which has recently appeared in India’s West Bengal state and is fatal in more than 40 percent of cases, according to findings published in the scientific journal Emerging Microbes & Infections yesterday.

The research team, comprised of teams led by Xiao Gengfu, Zhang Le and Shan Chao from the Wuhan Institute of Virology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Shanghai Institute of Materia Media and Hu Tianwen from VV116 developer Vigonvita Life Sciences, found that in lab experiments, VV116 and its metabolically active molecules effectively inhibited the Nipah virus, including both the Malaysian strain NiV-M and the Bangladeshi strain NiV-B, the Wuhan Institute of Virology said on its website yesterday, citing the article.

In lethal-dose infection tests with golden hamsters, VV116, when administered orally at a dose of 400 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, could increase survival rates to 66.7 percent and significantly reduced viral loads in key organs such as the lungs, spleen and brain, according to the article entitled, “The Oral Nucleoside Drug VV116 Is a Promising Candidate for Treating Nipah Virus Infections.”

However, VV116 is still at the preclinical research stage. To become an approved treatment for the Nipah virus, it still needs to go through human clinical trials, regulatory approval and market authorization, so its practical application is still a long way off.

The Nipah virus is not new and has caused several outbreaks in Malaysia, Singapore, India and Bangladesh since 1998, Dong-Yan Jin, professor at the School of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Hong Kong and senior associate dean of the Graduate School of the University of Hong Kong, told Yicai.

In Jin’s view, the lack of effective vaccines and treatments for the Nipah virus over the years is largely due to limited research funding and the relatively small number of cases. “The virus is very deadly, but it does not spread easily and each outbreak is generally small,” he said.

Suzhou-based Vigonvita’s share price [HKG:2630] closed up 10.9 percent at HKD108.90 (USD15) today. Earlier in the day it surged 15 percent to hit HKD113.

Editor: Kim Taylor