MOSCOW: Russia has approved R-Pharm’s Coronavir treatment for outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19 infections and the antiviral drug could be rolled out to pharmacies in the country as soon as next week, the company said on Friday.
Coronavir’s approval as a prescription drug follows the green light for another Russian COVID-19 drug, Avifavir, in May. Both are based on favipiravir, which was developed in Japan and is widely used there as the basis for viral treatments.
R-Pharm’s announcement is another sign Russia is pushing hard to take a global lead in the race against the virus. It is already exporting its COVID-19 tests and has clinched several international deals for supplies of its Sputnik-V vaccine.
R-Pharm said it received approval for Coronavir after Phase III clinical trials involving 168 patients with COVID-19.
The drug was first approved for in-hospital use to treat COVID-19 in July, a government register showed.
Coronavir’s trial was comparatively small. The European health regulator on Friday endorsed the use of the steroid dexamethasone in the treatment of COVID-19 patients after a study by UK researchers on several thousand patients.
R-Pharm has started talks with pharmacies about orders, the company’s spokeswoman said, with Coronavir supplies expected to be rolled out in the near future, possibly as soon as next week.❐
