Japan’s Shionogi Seeks China Approval for Covid Treatment

Japanese drugmaker Shionogi & Co. Ltd. applied for Chinese approval to sell its antiviral treatment for Covid-19, racing to become the second oral therapy to land in the country after Pfizer Inc.’s Paxlovid.

Osaka-based Shionogi said an application for marketing the drug, known as S-217622, was submitted to China’s National Medical Product Administration (NMPA) by its joint venture with Chinese insurer Ping An Insurance Group Co. — Ping An-Shionogi.