Russia Rolls Out First Approved Covid-19 Drug ‘Avifavir’ after Half a Million Infected

Russia Rolls Out First Approved Covid-19 Drug ‘Avifavir’ after Half a Million Infected. As the number of infections in Russia surpassed half a million, Russia has introduced a drug approved to treat patients suffering from the novel coronavirus.

Russia Rolls Out First Approved Covid-19 Drug ‘Avifavir’ after Half a Million Infected

Registered under the name Avifavir, first deliveries were made to some hospitals and clinics across the country, Russia’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund said in a press release.

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While clinical trails were still underway, the health ministry gave its approval for the drug’s use as the infection spread over 500,000 people.

RDIF has funded trials and has a 50% share in the drug’s manufacturer ChemRar.

RDIF chief Kirill Dmitriev last week told Reuters the plan was for ChemRar to manufacture enough of the drug to treat around 60,000 people a month. He further said that more than 10 countries had made requests for Avifavir supplies.

Negotiations were underway to supply the drug to almost all of Russia’s regions, though seven out of 80 regions have received initial deliveries.

Russia has the third-highest number of infections in the world, at 502,436 cases, after Brazil and the United States, but has a relatively low official death toll of 6,532.