COVID-19 drug developed by Biochemist has been submitted for clinical trials

JSC Biochemist sent a pilot batch of its own drug, Areplivir, containing the active ingredient Favipiravir, for research at the Medical Institute of Mordovian State University and Mordovian clinics.

Dmitry Zemskov, Executive Director of JSC Biochemist:

- Today is a very important day for our company - we have taken another step in the fight against the COVID-19 coronavirus infection. Today we are starting clinical trials of a drug of our own production, Areplivir, containing the active ingredient Favipiravir.

Favipiravir It was developed in Japan quite a long time ago – about 20 years ago, but was used to treat the Ebola virus and other atypical influenza viruses. This substance was not produced in our country. However, the extensive and positive experience of using this drug in the fight against COVID-19 in China has attracted attention and inspired hope that this drug will help people infected with COVID-19.

There are currently about 50 pharmaceutical companies in the world fighting for the development, improvement and production of this drug. JSC Biochemist is at the forefront of global trends.

Our specialists worked day and night, in three shifts, without holidays and weekends, in order to create this drug, which is so important in the fight against coronavirus infection, as soon as possible. In almost a month, our company's employees have developed a technology for the production of the substance, carried out all analytical studies and developed a drug for conducting clinical trials, which are very important. They should be carried out as soon as possible, because in the context of the Areplivir epidemic It may turn out to be a drug of hope, a choice, a drug of salvation.

Today, our drug will be delivered to clinics in Mordovia for research, and today we will be able to provide real help to people undergoing coronavirus infection therapy. There are about 100 such patients in total.

Helping people is the primary task of both the medical staff and us, the pharmaceutical industry staff. We hope that our development will allow Russian citizens to cope with the infection more efficiently, easily and quickly.

The production facilities of JSC Biochemik will fully cover the needs of our country in this drug. We are also thinking about the prospect of exporting Areplivir, but now it is more important for us to help the Russians.

Larisa Balykova, MD, Professor, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Director of the Medical Institute of the Mordovian State University:

Our institute has received a new antiviral drug "Areplivir" today. Together with practicing doctors, we will conduct research on its effectiveness and safety in patients with coronavirus infection in the clinic.

Analogues of this drug are very well and deeply studied in animal studies. Favipiravir has been shown to be highly effective in people with coronavirus infection, in particular, a large study was conducted in China, in Wuhan Province, where the first outbreak of COVID-19 was recorded. It has been recorded that this drug has high antiviral activity and minimal side effects compared to other drugs that are used in the fight against coronavirus infection, and even surpasses many. If the virus is eliminated from the body within 3-4 days, this is an excellent result. In this way, we will enable our patients to recover faster, and our doctors to discharge them faster.

We are not saying that this drug is a panacea in the fight against coronavirus infection, but it definitely has a new unique mechanism of action, blocks the RNA of the coronavirus and thereby prevents its reproduction, as well as leads to its death due to irreversible mutations.

It is no coincidence that it was the Mordovian enterprise JSC Biochemist that was able to develop this drug. All conditions have been created in our republic for the development of medical science, practice, and drug production, which allowed us to build this unique chain - from the laboratory and production facilities to practice.

We plan to start research in the near future, work will take place in several clinics. I think we will be ready to give a consolidated opinion in two months. And Russia will receive an effective means to combat the pandemic.

Vyacheslav Shchapov, Chief Physician of the S.V. Katkov Republican Clinical Hospital:

In the near future, Areplivir, which we have high hopes for, will be delivered to our hospital for widespread clinical use. The treatment regimens approved by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation are already working quite effectively, but in combination with new developments, especially those that have proven themselves well in China, treatment will be more effective - the length of stay of patients in the hospital and the severity of their condition will decrease. It is gratifying that this Russian drug is produced at our Mordovian enterprise, JSC Biochemist, which means that there will be no problems with the supply or quantity of the drug.