RDIF and ChemRar Group double production of Avifavir and involve two new production sites to meet high demand for the effective drug against COVID-19

• Production of Avifavir has been increased twofold in November to 200,000 packs per month
• RDIF and ChemRar Group have applied to the Ministry of Health of Russia for the inclusion of two additional contract production sites in the registration certificate to scale up production
• Production volume could be increased to 400,000 packs of Avifavir per month by early 2021

Moscow, November 30, 2020 – The Russian Direct Investment Fund, (RDIF) Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, and ChemRar Groupannounce increased production of Avifavir, the first Russian drug for treating coronavirus. Thanks to the launch of full-scale, rolling 24-hour production by ChemRaroutput has doubled in November to 200,000 packs per month.

In addition, an audit was completed for the transfer of Avifavir production technology to the sites of Russian partners. On November 25 applications were submitted to the Ministry of Health of Russia for inclusion of two additional contract production sites in the registration certificate to scale up production. Upon permission from the Ministry of Health for additional sites, the production volume could be increased to 400,000 packs of Avifavirper month or more by early 2021, which will allow providing Avafavir to all Russian hospitals and to the foreign partners at a later stage. At the same time, large shipments of Avifavir are being delivered to authorized distributors to supply Russia’s regions and ensure their use by outpatients.

Avifavir is one of the two registered COVID-19 drugs in the world. It is also the first Favipiravir-based drug in the world approved for the treatment of COVID-19. Favipiravir-based drugs have demonstrated efficacy in three independent clinical trials in Russia involving more than 700 patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19, as well as in trials conducted in Japan and other countries.

Clinical trials of Avifavir have proven the drug’s ability to disrupt the reproduction mechanisms of the coronavirus, relieving symptoms and halving the treatment period compared to standard therapy.

Avifavir has already been supplied to 15 countries. Coronavirus infection therapy involving Avifavir requires some restrictions for family planning over a three month period, and the drug is also not recommended for use by pregnant women.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, commented:

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, RDIF has focused on three key areas: tests, drugs and a vaccine against COVID-19. Thanks to our partnership and joint investments with ChemRar Group we managed to develop and conduct clinical trials of the world’s first registered drug against coronavirus – Avifavir. The drug has proven to be an efficient treatment for coronavirus infection. We see rising demand for it, in particular, due to the beginning of its use for outpatient treatment. The drug is available free of charge under medical prescription as part of the state program to fight coronavirus. RDIF and partners are taking all possible steps to increase the production and supply of Avifavir to the regions while ensuring complete quality control.”

Andrey Ivaschenko, Chairman of ChemRar Group, said:

“The main priority for us has been the social significance of this project. It is vital to provide patients with efficient therapy in a timely manner in order to start coronavirus treatment in the first five days. This makes it a lot easier to beat the virus. Therefore, seeing the high demand from the population and Russian healthcare system we, as in April-May, mobilized all our resources, stopped other projects, transferred production units to an around-the-clock operation, and connected partner’s sites in order to maximize production volumes in a short period of time and to ensure the necessary amount of Avifavir is supplied to medical institutions and pharmacies.”