Medical staff at Hoa Than Son, the newly built field hospital in Hubei province. Photo: Xinhua

In previous animal cell experiments, the drug was shown to be resistant to SARS and MERS viruses, also belonging to the corona family. Remdesivir is used in the emergency treatment of Ebola patients. China also recognizes drugs that can block nCoV at the cellular level.

Currently, there are 761 patients registered to participate in drug trials. Scientists will test three methods including randomized, "double-blind" study and appropriate placebo. This is called the "gold standard" in clinical measures.

The trial process, coordinated by the China-Japan Friendship Hospital and the Institute of Medicinal Materials - Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, is expected to take place at several medical facilities in Wuhan city.

Pneumonia caused by the new strain of cororna virus started in December 2019 and has spread to all 31 provinces across the country and 26 countries and territories.

To date, the world has recorded 28,276 nCoV positive cases and 565 deaths, mostly in China. Many countries including the UK, France, the US, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines have evacuated citizens from the Wuhan epidemic. The mainland government has also blockaded more than 10 provinces to prevent the spread of the disease.