In its attempt to provide treatments for Covid-19 patients, American biopharma firm FibroGen has chosen to tackle the infection slightly differently to many of its peers in the industry.
Antivirals such as Gilead’s remdesivir and anti-inflammatory medicines like the chloroquine drug currently being taken by US president Donald Trump have drawn much of the mainstream media attention regarding coronavirus treatments thus far.
But FibroGen is instead trying to treat the symptoms of pneumonia — often seen in severely ill Covid-19 patients — using its antibody drug pamrevlumab.