China has approved nationwide clinical use of a new anti-AIDS drug, based on traditional Chinese medicine, which is believed to be the most effective ever used in the country.

The drug, named immunicin tonic, has been registered and obtained the approval of the State Drug Administration of China.

It was developed by Cao Heyang, an associate research fellow at the Xi'an branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Zhao Wenli, a renowned expert with the AIDS Prevention and Treatment Center under the Ministry of Health, said over 30 kinds of anti-AIDS drugs had been sent to the center for examination, and immunicin tonic had proved to be the most effective with the least toxic effects.

"Different from other AIDS drugs, immunicin tonic is designed to prevent the HIV virus from entering the human body cells while increasing the quantity and quality of white blood cells and stimulating the immune system. Then it restrains viral activity by bringing the immune system back to normal," Cao said.

This was because destruction of the immune system as a result of HIV was the crux of the virus infection. Consequently, AIDS drugs must target HIV while protecting white blood cells, he added.

It took Cao 11 years to develop the drug. When the compound sample was produced, Cao conducted tests on animals at a local laboratory. After making sure that the drug did not produce toxic side effects, he increased the dosage on designated animals by 600 times and again found no toxic side effects.

Then, Cao conducted clinical tests on 31 AIDS patients in the Zhumadian Prefecture in central China's Henan Province, after seeking the approval of the Ministry of Health. Test results showed the success rate was 80 percent. The drug has been tested on 350 patients so far.

Zhao believed the new drug would gain widespread popularity for its low production cost and lack of side effects.

HIV carriers in China have exceeded one million since the first case was found in 1985. Chinese medical experts fear that over 80 percent of the patients might miss out on medical treatment since the average cost of the treatment was too high.