China's top drug regulator said on Friday that it has granted conditional market approval for the import of Merck's COVID-19 treatment, Molnupiravir.

The National Medical Products Administration said that the oral COVID-19 pill will be used to treat adult COVID-19 patients at risk of developing serious symptoms, such as the elderly, obese or overweight patients and those with chronic kidney disease, diabetes, serious cardiovascular diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, or cancer.

With the newly issued approval, three COVID-19 pills have become available in China. The other two are Pfizer's Paxlovid and the domestically developed Azvudine.