(Yicai Global) Feb. 17 -- Shares of Chinese pharmaceutical company Hainan Haiyao hit the exchange-imposed ceiling after saying it now has the ability to manufacture 3.5 million units a year of Remdesivir, an antiviral drug that is undergoing clinical trials as a possible treatment for the novel coronavirus.

The Haikou-based company's stock price [SHE:000566] jumped 10 percent today to close at CNY9.42 (USD1.35). The shares have climbed 45 percent so far this month.

Hainan Haiyao has successfully developed the synthesis process and preparation technology of Remdesivir's active pharmaceutical ingredient and started pilot production of 50 milligram and 100 milligram batches, it said in a statement on Feb. 14.

But significant uncertainties regarding its efficacy and approval procedures remain, the company said in a press release yesterday. The drug still needs to undergo further clinical trials to prove its effectiveness, and despite having the technology, the firm still needs regulatory approval to mass produce lyophilized, or freeze-dried, products, it told Yicai Global.

These technological developments will also have no significant value if Remdesivir's clinical trial results are not satisfactory and if the epidemic is soon brought under control, the company cautioned in a Feb. 13 statement.

Remdesivir, developed by the US biotech firm Gilead Sciences, showed good results in the treatment of the first Covid-19 patient in the US. The California-based firm then shared its drug data with Chinese research teams without asking for compensation, permitting pharmaceutical firms in the country to synthesize the drug in theory. But many technical challenges lie in mass production, a researcher told Yicai Global.

Suzhou-based Brightgene Bio-Medical Technology announced on Feb. 11 that it too had developed the synthesis process and preparation technology for the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Remdesivir and had started mass production.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Kim Taylor