China's State Food and Drug Administration has approved the clinical use on a trial basis of a drug potentially beneficial in the treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
A source with the administration said Tuesday that the drug, named "Sivelestat Sodium", is a chemical injection which will increase the respiratory capacity of SARS patients, reducing reliance on respirators and thus greatly reducing the incidence of complications such as infection of the respiratory tract and acute damages to the lungs.
Declining to give any details about the drug developer, the administration, which received the application on May 7, has been conducting further tests on the potential effectiveness of the medicine, the source noted.
Earlier, the administration approved clinical trial-use for two SARS prevention drugs, and two reagents used in testing for the SARS virus have been authorized to enter batch production.
(Xinhua News Agency May 20, 2003)
