Russia's anti-COVID-19 drug Avifavir effective against Delta & Omicron, says developer

Russia’s antiviral drug Avifavir is effective against different variants of COVID-19, such as Delta and Omicron, ChemRar Group, the developer of the drug said on Monday. According to a press release, the Russian company explained that Avifavir affected the highly conservative and mutation-resistant replication systems of RNA virus, resulting in a complete blockade of the viral infection. It said that the antiviral drug can also alleviate the symptoms and drastically decrease the duration of COVID-19, while the pathogen cannot develop resistance to the drug.  

"The ChemRar Group, the developer of the Russian drug against coronavirus Avifavir, announces about its efficacy against COVID-19, including the new Delta and Omicron strains. Avifavir acts on genetically highly conservative RNA virus replication systems, including delta and omicron strains of SARS-CoV-2, and it does so through three complementary mechanisms," according to the statement.

Further, as per the press note, clinical trials have confirmed the inability of viruses to form resistance to the drug, even with prolonged exposure of virus-infected cells to the product. The Russian company said that the analysis of 23 clinical trials of Avifavir in the treatment of COVID-19 showed a 47% improvement in the condition of patients when used at an early stage of the disease. 

Avifavir ‘well tolerated with no new adverse events’

Elena Yakubova, ChemRar Group’s medical director, informed that over the past 17 months, more than four million patients have been treated with the antiviral drug worldwide. The product was “well tolerated with no new adverse events” which confirms the “high safety” of the drug, Yakubova added. 

"Having accumulated extensive experience with Avifavir in patients infected with COVID both from clinical trials and real-world clinical practice, we see that taking Avifavir in the first 3–5 days after infection leads to a milder disease in most cases and prevents hospitalisation,” Elena Yakubova said. 

It is to mention that Avifavir is the first drug approved for coronavirus treatment in Russia, and also the first Favipiravir-based drug registered in the world for the treatment of the deadly virus. The antiviral drug was released on the market in June 2020 and since it is being supplied to all Russian regions and to 15 nations across the globe. Clinical studies of the drug proved its efficacy against COVID-19, the ability to relieve symptoms and reduce the duration of the course of the disease in half compared with standard therapy. 

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