A pharmaceutical drug made in China and claimed to be a cure for the chronic hepatitis B virus recently finished clinical trials and is expected to start mass-production this year at a facility in Qingdao that is due to be completed by August. As a national major new drug development project, it has cost Beijing-based Genova Biotech 15 years and a total investment of over 1 billion yuan ($154.7 million). The drug, Novaferon, will be priced 50-percent cheaper than imported drugs with the same function, according to the company.