China has said it had given “conditional” approval for Pfizer's Covid-19 drug Paxlovid to treat adults with mild to moderate illness and a high risk of developing severe disease.

The National Medical Products Administration said further research on the drug needed to be undertaken and submitted to the regulator, AFP reported.

Paxlovid has so far been authorised in several countries including the United States and Israel, while the European Union has permitted member states to use it ahead of formal approval as an emergency measure against the Omicron variant.