MOSCOW, June 11. /TASS/. Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and ChemRar Group have delivered the first batch of Avifavir drug against the coronavirus to Russian hospitals, RDIF said in a statement on Thursday.

Clinics and pharmaceutical organizations in the Moscow, Leningrad, Novgorod, Kirov and Nizhny Novgorod regions, as well as in the Republic of Tatarstan and Ekaterinburg, have already received the first deliveries of the drug, the Fund said. As many as 60,000 courses of Avifavir will be delivered to Russian hospitals in June. Production of Avifavir could be increased to 2 mln courses per year if necessary.

"The drug is in high demand across Russia, with negotiations underway to arrange deliveries to almost all regions of the country. We have also received requests for deliveries of Avifavir from more than ten countries. The initial results of clinical trials make this drug one of the most promising in the world," Chief Executive Officer Kirill Dmitriev was quoted as saying.

Avifavir is produced by a joint venture of RDIF and ChemRar Group. It is one of the two registered COVID-19 drugs in the world. Avifavir has also become the first Favipiravir-based drug in the world approved for treatment of COVID-19. It has shown high efficacy in clinical trials, disrupting the reproduction mechanisms of coronavirus.

On May 29, Avifavir received a registration certificate from Russia’s Ministry of Health and became the first Russian drug approved for treatment of COVID-19 patients. On June 3, the Ministry of Health included Avifavir in the seventh edition of the guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the novel coronavirus infection.