Conventional Chinese language drugs Lianhua Qingwen produced by Beijing Yiling Pharmaceutical is seen on April 11, 2022 in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou province of China.
Hu Yan/VCG by way of Getty Photographs
Wu Yiling, the billionaire founding father of conventional Chinese language drugs producer Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical, noticed his wealth plunge by $1.1 billion in simply sooner or later amid questions over the efficacy of his purported Covid-treatment medication.
The 72-year-old is dealing with rising skepticism of Yiling’s signature product, a natural treatment referred to as Lianhua Qingwen. Shares of the Shenzhen-listed firm had nearly quadrupled for the reason that begin of the pandemic in 2020, as capsules of Lianhua Qingwen have been recommended by Chinese language government authorities and well being specialists for treating gentle Covid circumstances.
However the rally now seems to have come to an finish. The corporate’s inventory plunged by its each day buying and selling restrict of 10% in Shenzhen on Monday—dragging Wu’s wealth all the way down to $4.7 billion from $5.8 billion on the World’s Actual-Time Billionaires’ Listing. The drop got here after Wang Sicong, the outspoken son of Wang Jianlin, the chairman of Dalian Wanda, reposted late final week a video on his verified account on Sina Weibo that questioned whether or not the World Well being Group (WHO) has ever really useful Lianhua Qingwen as a Covid remedy.
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What’s extra, Chinese language healthcare platform Dingxiang Doctor can also be now advising towards utilizing the capsules, that are constituted of substances that embrace honeysuckle, liquorice root and apricot seed. In an article revealed at midnight on Sunday, the platform wrote that there’s presently no proof suggesting that Lianhua Qingwen can stop Covid infections.
A Yiling consultant acknowledged over the telephone a request for remark, however the firm was unable to supply a response. In a submitting to the Shenzhen Inventory Trade, the corporate stated Lianhua Qingwen accounted for 42% of its 3.4 billion yuan ($529 million) in gross sales within the first three quarters of 2021 (Yiling additionally makes natural therapies for cardiovascular and tumor-related illnesses). In early April, the corporate donated $7.9 million price of Lianhua Qingwen capsules to Shanghai, which have been distributed to residents because the each day depend of confirmed Covid circumstances continues to mount.
China, within the meantime, has additionally been attempting to advertise Lianhua Qingwen overseas–and the outcomes have to this point been combined. Russia started to allow the sale of the capsules in late 2020, whereas authorities elsewhere, resembling these within the U.S. and Singapore, have questioned the efficacy of the capsules for treating Covid. In the meantime, the WHO has not authorized or really useful Lianhua Qingwen as a Covid remedy.
