Kintor Pharmaceutical Ltd of China said on Sunday preliminary analysis of the results of a clinical trial in Brazil of its treatment for Covid-19 indicates that the remedy shows promise in the treatment of female patients.

Kintor issued a written statement saying only 1.7 percent of the volunteers treated were admitted to hospital, while 17.1 percent of those left untreated were admitted, and that no patient required intensive care.

The company expects to collect the last of the data from the trial by March.

Kintor and Applied Biology Inc. of the United States jointly developed the remedy, using a male hormone blocker, proxalutamide, the statement says.

Proxalutamide can ameliorate the symptoms of Covid-19 in female patients, making admission to hospital unnecessary, the statement quotes Kintor Chairman Tong Youzhi as saying.

A late-stage trial is in prospect in the near future, Kintor quotes its chairman as saying.