Golden Biotechnology said its drug candidate antroquinonol will enter Phase II trials in the US for treatment of severely ill COVID-19, pending authorisation by the authorities, in the third quarter, as reported Taipei Times.

Antroquinonol is undergoing Phase II trials in the US, Peru and Argentina, where 174 hospital patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms are enrolled in the study.

Preliminary results of the trials in the US were commended by an independent data monitoring committee assigned to the trials by the FDA, said Golden Biotech.

The committee recommended that the trials also include severely ill COVID-19 patients undergoing non-invasive ventilation or high-flow oxygen therapy, the company added.