The first domestic injectable drug for the treatment of covid-19 has been registered

The first domestic direct-acting intravenous antiviral drug Areplivir® (favipiravir) has received a registration certificate and will be admitted to hospitals in all regions by the end of the year. With its development, Promomed Group responded to the urgent need of domestic healthcare for hospital-based covid-19 therapies.

During a recent meeting, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin announced the emergence of new domestic drugs to combat covid-19 (Meeting with the leadership of the Ministry of Defense and defense industry enterprises (kremlin.ru)). Injectable Areplivir was one of the first such drugs.^®.

"Until now, the only antiviral drug for parenteral administration was a foreign drug, which is not only expensive, but also inaccessible. Promomed has proposed a new class of drugs that can dramatically change the situation with hospitalized patients, the most risky cohort of patients. The emergence of an effective domestic antiviral drug for parenteral administration, while widely available, can turn the tide in the fight against the pandemic," said the chief pulmonologist of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation., Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Sergey Avdeev. — The injectable form of the drug is characterized not only by 100% bioavailability, but also by more intensive penetration and distribution in cells, longer retention of therapeutic concentration in tissues, as well as an improved safety profile. This should significantly increase the effectiveness of the treatment at the hospital stage."

Full-scale production on the basis of JSC Biochemik (Promomed Group production site) and delivery to medical institutions in the country will start in December 2021.

"We have seen that Areplivir in tablet form has proven itself well for covid therapy, so we took seriously the task of creating its parenteral form for treatment at the hospital stage. And here we turned to the help of Russian scientists who completed this task, and we implemented it in production," commented Peter Bely, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Promomed Group. - I consider it critically important for the national healthcare system to have its own development and production of innovative national medicines. We are pleased to do our part in this direction and present the drug that the doctors of the red zones are looking forward to."

Promomed was the first in the world to make an injectable form of favipiravir, despite the fact that the substance is an insoluble powder. A multicenter clinical trial led by Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences D.Y. Pushkar confirmed the effectiveness and safety of the new drug when used in hospitals.

The oral form of Areplivir^® It is included in the current recommendations at both outpatient and inpatient stages. It is expected that the injectable form will also be included in the recommendations as more effective for the treatment of hospitalized patients when the fastest and most clinically confirmed result is needed. The final decision will be made by the Ministry of Health during the next revision of the interim guidelines for the "Prevention, diagnosis and treatment of new coronavirus infection (COVID-19)."