Russia’s first IV anti-Covid drug registered, manufacturer says

Dubbed Areplivir, the “first direct-acting intravenous solution for treatment of Covid-19 in Russia” has been registered by the authorities, its developer Promomed told TASS on Friday. The company added that the drug would be available for use in hospitals before year’s end. 

The solution is a new form of the drug that has been used in Russia as pills since September 2020. It is based on the synthetic drug favipiravir, registered in neighboring Japan to treat influenza, and being actively studied as potential anti-Covid medication.

Promomed says it’s the first company in the world to create an injectable form of favipiravir, which is normally a non-soluble powder.

Areplivir is one of the three favipiravir-based drugs currently touted as promising treatments for Covid-19 in Russia. Promomed published the results of clinical trials of the pill form of the drug in October 2020. The paper was published in the Russian peer-reviewed medical journal ‘Infectious Diseases.’

Promomed asserts that Areplivir therapy has led to a speedier recovery in comparison to traditional treatment methods, pointing to the results of the study that showed few to no side effects. The company has not presented any data on the clinical trials of the drug’s injection form. 

Areplivir is the latest medication registered around the world for Covid treatment. There are other experimental drugs administered intravenously, including remdesivir. Debates about the effectiveness and safety of these anti-viral drugs are ongoing, as more patient data pours in.

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