“The drug was created specifically for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, but since the world has experience using this type of drug to treat patients with COVID, we repositioned it there and began clinical trials,” he said.

According to him, the drug is intended for subcutaneous administration. He said that “there are two syringes in a pack”, doctors either “put two syringes at the same time, or with a certain delay”, after which “the person leaves for observation” and “is written out 10 days later”.

“This is a completely original development, the molecules are completely made in our company, this is not a copy, not a generic or an analogue, this is an original drug, original molecules,” Morozov said.

He noted that in the framework of clinical trials, the company's specialists began to interact with the Central Clinical Hospital of the Administrative Department of the President of Russia. According to him, doctors suggested using the drug to prevent complications of coronavirus infection occurring in the form of a cytokine storm.

Morozov noted that before that, “all clinical recommendations for this type of drug implied its administration in the presence of a cytokine storm.”

“Our colleagues have developed their own regimen for the use of this drug and began to use it based on the clinical picture. As soon as they see that a person has a small shortness of breath or other signs of COVID-19 disease that can develop into aggravating conditions, they began to use it ahead of schedule, ”he said.

Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Health issued a registration certificate for the drug “Levilimab” (trade name “Ilsira”) for the treatment of coronavirus complications in patients.