Peter Bely, Chairman of the Board of Directors of PROMOMED Group, was awarded the Order of Pirogov.

Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded the Order of Pirogov to Peter Bely, Chairman of the Board of Directors of PROMOMED Group. The award was awarded for services in the field of drug production and is the highest assessment of the work on the creation of the latest antiviral drug Areplivir, which radically changed the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The development and production of Areplivir (INN: Favipiravir) began at the Saransk pharmaceutical plant of JSC Biochemik, part of PROMOMED Group of Companies, at the beginning of last year. The drug is a direct-acting drug against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In the course of clinical trials conducted under the guidance of full members of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 5 Russian medical institutions, it has proven to be highly effective and safe, preventing the transition of coronavirus infection to a severe form.

At the beginning of July last year, the use of Areplivir began in hospitals. And already in September, during the beginning of the second wave of the epidemic, PROMOMED Group of Companies was the first in Russia to receive a permanent registration certificate for the release of Areplivir and the drug began to be sold in pharmacies. Almost immediately, the drug was included in the guidelines of the Russian Ministry of Health for the treatment of COVID-19, and by order of the Government of the Russian Federation, from October 21, 2020, it was included in the list of vital and essential medicines.

Since its creation, Areplivir has literally saved hundreds of thousands of lives and continues to be one of the most effective treatments for coronavirus infection. The drug was included in the Moscow program of free medical care for COVID-19 patients. The most important stage in the fight against the epidemic was the PROMOMED Areplivir - Doctors charity program, which provides for the creation of stocks of this drug in regional medical centers for the free treatment of doctors working in the "red zone". During the campaign in Moscow, Leningrad, Samara, Saratov, Sverdlovsk, Novosibirsk, Kirov, Tula and Voronezh regions, the Republics of Mordovia and Dagestan, Perm Krai and other regions, PROMOMED Group donated over 16 thousand packages of the drug to medical workers.

The Order of Pirogov is a state award of the Russian Federation. It was established by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation "On the establishment of the Order of Pirogov and the Medal of Luke of the Crimea" in June 2020. The Order is awarded to Russian citizens for their dedication in providing medical care in emergency situations, epidemics, and military operations, as well as for their services in the field of practical medical activities and highly effective organization of work on the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of particularly dangerous diseases, for their contribution to strengthening public health, preventing the occurrence and development of infectious and non-communicable diseases. The motto of the Pirogov Order is "Mercy, duty, dedication."