Russian Ministry of Health distributes domestically produced molnupiravir to the regions

Promomed 16 March 2022

The Ministry of Health sent more than 670,000 packages of domestically produced antiviral drug molnupiravir to the regions.


«In the current epidemic situation, timely and sufficient supplies of molnupiravir are an important element for stabilizing the situation in the regions of Russia, since in a number of regions the number of patients with COVID-19 undergoing outpatient and inpatient treatment continues to be high,» the message says.

Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko noted that despite the decline in the incidence of COVID-19 in the world and in Russia, the number of patients is still high. More than 85,000 people are currently receiving treatment in the country's hospitals, and more than 600,000 are receiving outpatient treatment. At the same time, due to the high contagiousness, the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron strain called «stealth» has every chance of soon becoming the predominant strain.

«I want to emphasize that March and April remain key months for the development of the further epidemiological situation, it is best to use this time for revaccination,» the minister said.

At the moment, Promomed Group is the only manufacturer of the drug based on the myolnupiravir molecule in Russia. In January, the Ministry of Health issued a permit for a clinical trial of the molnupiravir-based drug to Pharmasyntez. It is being developed by MSD (Merck & Co in the USA and Canada) and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics under the trade name Lagevrio. In mid-February, the Ministry of Health received marketing authorization application from MSD for the drug under trade name «Lagevrio». Molnupiravir is a direct-acting antiviral drug that, by embedding itself in the genome, disrupts the process of replication of the coronavirus. It is an oral drug for the treatment of adult patients with mild to moderate COVID-19.

In March, WHO added molnupiravir to the list of recommendations for the treatment of COVID-19. The organization recommends to prescribe it only to patients with a mild form of the disease with a high risk of hospitalization.

 

Source: pharmvestnik.ru