Mprosevir (Iscartrelvir Hydrochloride Tablets) is shown with its packaging. [Photo/Tide News]

The innovative antiviral drug Iscartrelvir Hydrochloride Tablets, jointly developed by Westlake University, Westlake Laboratory, and Westlake Pharmaceuticals, has been conditionally approved for marketing by China's National Medical Products Administration.

Marketed as Mprosevir, the small-molecule drug is used to treat adults with mild to moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection. It is Westlake University's first independently developed Class 1 innovative drug under China's drug registration system.

According to the developers, it is the world's first innovative small-molecule drug based on DNA-encoded library, or DEL, technology to gain marketing approval.

Artificial intelligence was also used in its development. The developers say Mprosevir is China's first domestically developed innovative drug to gain marketing approval following AI-assisted development, with the process from initial discovery to the completion of clinical trials taking about three and a half years.