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Coronavirus pandemic

Russia ready to export Avifavir for treatment of coronavirus amid global shortage

Last month, the drug was delivered across Russia's 35 regions and to the Republic of Belarus

© Sergei Karpukhin/TASS

MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/. Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is ready to export Avifavir drug against the coronavirus amid the shortage of such drugs globally due to the US authorities’ decision to purchase almost 100% of the manufactured Remdesivir in the coming months, the Fund said in a statement on Thursday.

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"Avifavir is one of the world's most effective coronavirus drugs and produces better results than its peers, including the US drug Remdesivir made by Gilead Sciences. Given the US authorities’ decision to purchase almost 100% of the manufactured Remdesivir in the coming months and the shortage of effective drugs on the global market, Russia is ready to help other countries in the fight against coronavirus and begin exports of Avifavir. More than 50 countries have already expressed interest in the drug. RDIF and ChemRar intend to expand Avifavir's production and widen its supply geographically over the coming months," Chief Executive Officer Kirill Dmitriev was quoted as saying.

Moreover, RDIF and ChemRar produced the first 100,000 courses of Avifavir in June, significantly exceeding initially planned production levels of 60,000 courses, the statement said.

In June, the drug was delivered across Russia's 35 regions and to the Republic of Belarus. Agreement has also been reached for deliveries of Avifavir to the Republic of Kazakhstan in the near future. In total, more than 100,000 courses will be produced in July.

The joint venture established by RDIF and ChemRar Group provided an additional opportunity to increase production capacity threefold, up to 300,000 courses per month, which will satisfy domestic demand for Avifavir in Russia and enable the start of supplies to the international market.

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 latest, seventh edition of the guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the novel coronavirus infection. It has shown high efficacy in clinical trials, disrupting the reproduction mechanisms of coronavirus.

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