Russia currently conducts clinical trials of five drugs for the treatment of the coronavirus infection, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th April, 2020) Russia currently conducts clinical trials of five drugs for the treatment of the coronavirus infection, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said on Friday.
"Clinical trials are being conducted today for five drugs, four drugs are going through the state registration via the new procedure established by the government," Murashko said at a meeting on the progress of construction and re-profiling of medical facilities in Russian regions.
The ministry is considering options to accelerate the registration of the coronavirus vaccine, he told Russian President Vladimir Putin, when asked whether the vaccine could be developed faster than the third quarter of 2020.
"Today we have involved all regulatory mechanisms, including via the simultaneous launch of some of them, but we understand that in addition to the vaccine's release, its safety and effectiveness should be confirmed. We, together with the scientific community, with the experts, are developing these options, including possible involvement of vaccines basically targeting other diseases. All options are being considered and developed today," Murashko told Putin.
The minister also said that seven test systems for the coronavirus detection were expected to be registered in Russia in the near future in additional to 12 systems already used by the country's doctors.
Russia must already prepare for the production of a sufficient amount of coronavirus vaccines, Putin said.
"It's not enough to find the appropriate medicine. We also need to produce it in the right volumes. Of course, we need to take care of this right now. Now we need to prepare for the production process," he said.
The president expressed hope that the work on creating a vaccine against coronavirus in Russia would be completed successfully.
"I want to wish success to everyone who works in this area. We all understand how important these results are for us, and for the whole world as well. We hope that the work will be completed as soon as possible," Putin said.
