Russia rolls out new Covid drug as cases touch 5 lakh

scow, June 11

Russia on Thursday rolled out a drug approved to treat patients suffering from the novel coronavirus, its state financial backer said, as the number of infections there surpassed half a million.

The first deliveries of the new anti-viral drug, registered under the name ‘Avifavir’, were made to some hospitals and clinics across the country, Russia’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund said in a press release. The RDIF has funded trials and has a 50% share in the drug’s manufacturer ChemRar.

The health ministry gave its approval for the drug’s use under a special accelerated process while clinical trials, held over a shorter period and with fewer people than many other countries, were still under way. There is currently no vaccine for Covid, and human trials of several existing antiviral drugs have yet to show efficacy.

RDIF chief Kirill Dmitriev had said last week that the plan was for ChemRar to manufacture enough of the drug to treat around 60,000 people a month. Dmitriev on Thursday said more than 10 countries had made requests for Avifavir supplies. Negotiations were under way to supply the drug to almost all of Russia’s regions, with seven of its more than 80 regions receiving Thursday’s initial deliveries, Dmitriev added.

With 5,02,436 cases, Russia has the third highest number of infections in the world after the United States and Brazil, but has a relatively low official death toll of 6,532 – something that has been the focus of debate.

Meanwhile, Russia said it had charged the head of the remote Arctic city of Norilsk with criminal negligence over what investigators said was his bungled response to a major environmental disaster.

Around 21,000 tonnes of diesel leaked into rivers and subsoil on May 29 from a power station in Norilsk, an incident that Greenpeace has compared to the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska. The Investigative Committee stated the mayor had failed to coordinate and organise emergency measures to contain and control fallout from the spill. — Reuters