(To watch the whole press briefing with sign language interpretation, click here.)

Three public hospitals will start clinical trials of an antiviral drug which is expected to be shipped to Hong Kong next week, the Hospital Authority said today.

The authority’s Chief Manager (Clinical Effectiveness & Technology Management) Dr Linda Yu told a press briefing that it had offered research ethics approval to study Remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19.

“The Hospital Authority has offered research ethics approval to the two studies in using Remdesivir in patients with COVID-19 infection. I understand that the Drug Office of the Department of Health has also issued the clinical trial certificate.

“The drug will be shipped to Hong Kong by next week and the clinical trials can be started in three hospitals which are Queen Mary Hospital, Princess Margaret Hospital and Prince of Wales Hospital.”

Dr Yu added that since it was still an investigational drug, there was not much information on its side effects.

“We do not know much about it. But from our preliminary experience, we know it may cause some liver enzyme elevation.”