“A special, inhaled form of the drug is ready”: how work is being done on drugs against COVID-19 in Russia

In Russia, with the participation of RAS specialists, three drugs have been developed that could potentially be used to treat COVID-19 coronavirus infection. This was told to RIA Novosti by the vice president, head of the biomedical sciences section of the Russian Academy of Sciences, academician Vladimir Chekhonin.

According to him, several years ago at the Postovskiy Institute of Organic Synthesis named after the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, they created the antiviral drug triazavirin, which is now interested in specialists from China regarding the prospects of its use for the treatment of a new disease.

“Today, a special, inhaled form of this drug is ready, which can be used exclusively for the treatment of respiratory viral infections. I am sure that it will be more acceptable for the treatment of COVID-19 infection. And, of course, this option is extremely important in the current situation, ”said Chekhonin.

The scientist also said that the Institute of Organic Synthesis, together with the Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry in Moscow, created a “fairly effective” and compatible with the requirements of the Russian pharmaceutical industry scheme for the synthesis of the drug favipiravir. It was developed in Japan to treat infections caused by RNA viruses. This drug is also ready to be tested, said Chekhonin.

In addition, the academician reported on the preparation at the site of the Gamalei National Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, together with the Institute of Organic Chemistry, the drug, which passed all stages of clinical trials. According to Chekhonin, the drug is at the registration stage, after passing through which the drug can be submitted for testing to check its possible activity against COVID-19.

BCG vaccine against COVID-19

The vice president of the Russian Academy of Sciences also spoke about the work on three promising vaccines against a new coronavirus infection, including a multivalent drug, "that is, one that would work against a wide range of coronaviruses, not just the current one." In more detail about this vaccine, RT was told by Olga Karpova, Head of the Department of Virology, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University.

Another potential way to counter COVID-19 could be the BCG TB vaccine, which appeared almost a hundred years ago and was widely used throughout the world, including in the USSR and later in Russia.

Foreign scientists have concluded that BCG vaccine may be useful against COVID-19 due to its ability to enhance general immunity. An experiment on the use of this vaccine will take place in several countries around the world.

In particular, according to Reuters, in Australia, about 4 thousand paramedics will take part in BCG tests in a new quality. According to the agency, half of the participants in the experiment will be vaccinated with BCG, the other half will be given a placebo. Subsequently, the health of both groups will be monitored.

Recall that earlier the Federal Medical and Biological Agency introduced a treatment regimen for coronavirus infection COVID-19 based on the existing antimalarial drug Mefloquine. It is proposed for inclusion in the guidelines of the Ministry of Health of Russia for the treatment of coronavirus. In addition, the development of a coronavirus infection prevention scheme based on Mefloquine started.

"The drug with high selectivity blocks the cytopathic effect of coronavirus in cell culture and prevents its replication, and the immunosuppressive effect of mefloquine prevents the activation of the inflammatory response caused by the virus," the press service quoted FMBA head Veronika Skvortsova.

The incidence of COVID-19 in the world

According to the latest data, the number of people infected with COVID-19 coronavirus infection in the world exceeded the mark of 722 thousand people, and in 171 countries outside of China 640 thousand cases of the disease were registered (the increase over the last day was 10.2%). About 34 thousand people became victims of COVID-19 around the world.

According to the operational report of the American Johns Hopkins University, the leader in the number of detected cases of COVID-19 remains the United States, where more than 143 thousand infected were found, and the number of deaths from the disease reached 2.5 thousand.

US President Donald Trump said that if the authorities did not act, more than 2 million Americans could die from the coronavirus, so lower numbers are “a good result” against this background.

“If we manage to reduce the number of deaths to 100 thousand people, it means we have done a good job,” Trump said.

He expressed the view that the peak of mortality from coronavirus in the United States will occur in the next two weeks, and the country's recovery after a pandemic will begin closer to summer.

"Models show that a peak in mortality is likely to be achieved within two weeks ... We can expect that by June 1 we will be on the path to recovery," Trump quotes CNN.

In China, from which the spread of coronavirus began, 93% of those who were previously ill reported recovering. According to the State Committee for Healthcare of the PRC, over 75 thousand out of more than 81 thousand identified cases have been cured. About 2.3 thousand people remain in hospitals.

According to the latest data from the Russian operational headquarters for COVID-19, in the Russian Federation there are 1836 cases of infection in 71 regions of the country. During the day, 302 new cases of the disease were registered. During the spread of coronavirus infection in Russia, 66 people were cured of it, nine patients died.

Commenting on the dynamics of the incidence of COVID-19 in Russia, Professor Vladimir Shumilov, head of the department of science and innovation at the 67th hospital in Moscow, professor suggested that coronavirus becomes “less aggressive” than at the very beginning of the spread.

“My personal opinion is that within a month there will be a decline in the spread of infection. According to our observations, the virus becomes less aggressive than at the very beginning. I think the forecast is very favorable, ”he told RIA Novosti.