The First Batch of the Antiviral Drug Avifavir Delivered to Russian Hospitals

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, and the ChemRar Group today announce the delivery of the first batch of Avifavir to Russian hospitals.

Clinics and pharmaceutical organizations in the Moscow, Leningrad, Novgorod, Kirov and Nizhny Novgorod regions, as well as in the Republic of Tatarstan and Ekaterinburg have already received the first deliveries of the drug. 60,000 courses of Avifavir will be delivered to Russian hospitals in June. Production of Avifavir could be increased to two million courses per year if necessary.

Avifavir is marked with a Data Matrix digital code. The labeling is an analog of a drug passport, which guarantees the authenticity of the drug and makes it possible to track the entire route of each package: from production to the pharmacy or medical facility. Authenticity can be verified using the Honest Sign mobile app.

Avifavir is one of the two registered COVID-19 drugs in the world. Avifavir has also become the first Favipiravir-based drug in the world approved for treatment of COVID-19. It has shown high efficacy in clinical trials, disrupting the reproduction mechanisms of coronavirus.

On May 29, 2020, Avifavir received a registration certificate from the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and became the first Russian drug approved for treatment of COVID-19 patients. On June 3, 2020, the Ministry of Health included Avifavir in the seventh edition of the guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of new coronavirus infection COVID-19.

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

Russian hospitals have started to receive Avifavir, the first Russian drug against coronavirus, for treating their patients. The drug will be provided free of charge under the Compulsory Health Insurance program. The drug is in high demand across Russia, with negotiations underway to arrange deliveries to almost all regions of the country. We have also received requests for deliveries of Avifavir from more than ten countries. The initial results of clinical trials make this drug one of the most promising in the world.”

Avifavir has proven to be highly effective during the first stage of clinical trials conducted by I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Lomonosov Moscow State University and other institutions.

• According to the results of the first stage of clinical trials, Avifavir has demonstrated safety with no new or previously unreported side effects detected;
• Following the first four days of treatment, 65% of the 40 patients receiving Avifavir tested negative for coronavirus, which is twice as many as in the standard therapy group. By day 10, the number of patients whose tests returned negative results reached 90%;
• Efficacy of the drug is above 80%, a criterion for a drug with high antiviral activity;
  The body temperature of 68% of patients taking Avifavir returned to normal earlier (on the third day) than in the control group (on the sixth day);
   
• The drug is undergoing trials in Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Tver, Nizhny Novgorod, Smolensk, Ryazan, Kazan, Ufa and in the Republic of Dagestan.

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