In Russia They Will Launch Produce Plasma-based Coronavirus Therapy

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, announces a partnership with Nacimbio (part of the State Corporation Rostec) to carry out a joint project for the production of a drug for coronavirus therapy based on blood plasma.

One of Nacimbio’s enterprices has developed a universal technology for the production of human immunoglobulins for intravenous administration. The BioGam drug produced using this technology has successfully passed the first phase of clinical trials.

The partnership between RDIF and Nacimbio involves the production of an immunoglobulin preparation containing antibodies to the SARS CoV-2 coronavirus. It is produced using the plasma of donors who have gone through a coronavirus infection. In partnership with RDIF, Nacimbio has attracted investments for the purchase of equipment, clinical trials, and preparation of documents to register the final drug. The production of immunoglobulin containing antibodies against coronavirus will be organized according to the full technological cycle, subject to the availability of raw materials, at four branches of the biotech company Microgen, part of Nacimbio holding.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said:

“RDIF is undertaking large-scale efforts to find the best solutions for the treatment of coronavirus infection. The fund is collaborating with leading Russian and foreign scientific and technology centers to produce a wide range of drugs and vaccines. The production of drugs using plasma from the blood of donors who have had coronavirus is one promising area of therapy that RDIF plans to develop in Russia together with Nacimbio. We hope that the Fund’s investments will help accelerate research, achieve positive results and begin full-scale production of the drug”.

Sergey Chemezov, CEO of State Corporation Rostec, noted:

“The entire global scientific community is now engaged in the search for solutions in the fight against coronavirus, and Russia’s specialists are playing an active role in this process. Soon we will be able to bring our own effective and safe drug to the domestic market. After it passes registration, we are ready to launch production at four sites at once – in Perm, Nizhny Novgorod, Tomsk and Ufa”.

Andrey Zagorskiy, CEO of Nacimbio, said:

“Microgen” satisfies over 25% of the Russian market’s demand for albumin and immunoglobulins, and is also the country’s largest producer of specific immunoglobulins for staphylococcus, tick-borne encephalitis, hepatitis B and tetanus. We are confident that cooperation with RDIF will create the synergistic effect that will allow the drug to quickly enter the Russian market”.

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