A Basingstoke pharmaceutical company is trying to develop a life-saving drug to help fight the coronavirus spread.

Crescent Pharma Limited, on Sarum Hill, has developed a drug which is currently being used in clinical trials in China, according to GlobalData Healthcare.

Their substance is an antimalarial drug derived from quinolone called chloroquine phosphate, the source confirms.

Quinolones are chemotherapeutic bacterial drugs that remove bacteria by interfering with DNA replication, GlobalData Healthcare reported.

Crescent Pharma's drug is being used in 10 trials for Covid-19 in China. The potential vaccine is formulated as a syrup for oral administration and manufactured by a Swedish company, the source verifies.

Following the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK government has banned the parallel export and hoarding of three other potential vaccines in anticipation of shortages, GlobalData Healthcare said. 

The government claimed that the drug is being restricted to meet the needs of UK patients.

According to GlobalData Healthcare, the drug is also marketed by The Boots Company in Nottingham and by other companies in multiple other regions.

The drug is also on trial with Kaletra, as chloroquine phosphate is believed to have broad-spectrum antiviral activities, although it is not approved as an antiviral agent.

The source also said: "[The drug] is formulated as a syrup for oral administration. Recipharm, based in Stockholm, Sweden, manufactures the drug under the brand name Klorokinfosfat RPH Pharma for marketing in Sweden by Astimex Pharma.

"In March, the chief medical officer (CMO) noted increased demand and said it is securing a supply of the product in case of demand suddenly rose."

The Gazette reached out to Crescent Pharma Limited, but they declined to comment.