Russia Will Export Its Anti-COVID Drug Avifavir

July 6, 2020 (EIRNS)—The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is ready to export Russia’s Avifavir drug treatment against the coronavirus, since there is a shortage of drugs to fight the COVID-19 virus globally, TASS July 2. Russia will export more, because U.S. authorities have decided to purchase almost 100% of the antiviral remdesivir manufactured by the American firm Gilead Sciences in the coming months, the RDIF said in a statement July 2.

“Avifavir is one of the world's most effective coronavirus drugs and produces better results than its peers, including the U.S. drug remdesivir made by Gilead Sciences. Given the U.S. 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,”

said RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev.

In June, the Russian Direct Investment Fund and ChemRar produced the first 100,000 courses of Avifavir—well over its initially planned production level of 60,000—and delivered them to Russia’s 35 regions, and to the Republic of Belarus. There is also an agreement to deliver Avifavir to Kazakhstan in the near future. More than 100,000 treatment courses will be produced in July. The joint venture formed by RDIF and ChemRar will up monthly production threefold, to 300,000, to satisfy domestic demand, and allow the export of supplies to the international market. TASS reported today that Russia has had fewer than 7,000 daily COVID-19 cases in the past week.