RDIF CEO Says Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia Purchased Avifavir From Russia

RDIF CEO Says Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia Purchased Avifavir From Russia

Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia are among the countries that have submitted purchase orders for the Russian-made COVID-19 treatment Avifavir, which has already responded well during clinical trials, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev said in an op-ed in the Newsweek magazine on Tuesday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th July, 2020) Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia are among the countries that have submitted purchase orders for the Russian-made COVID-19 treatment Avifavir, which has already responded well during clinical trials, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev said in an op-ed in the Newsweek magazine on Tuesday.

"Avifavir has already been bought not only by Russia's neighbours Belarus and Kazakhstan but also by Colombia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Peru and many other countries with more than 50 countries submitting purchase requests," Dmitriev wrote.

Avifavir was the first Russian-made drug to receive Ministry of Health approval in late May and clinical trials have shown it to be 90 percent effective in treating COVID-19.

Russia is taking the lead in distributing the treatment to other countries, given that Remdesivir, another antiviral drug that has shown its effectiveness in treating the disease, will be slower to reach the international market in light of a deal between the United States government and the drug's producer, Gilead Sciences, Dmitriev wrote.

"While Remdesivir will not be available to be shipped internationally for some time due to massive purchases by the U.S. Government, we have already launched the international distribution of Avifavir, and increased our production to 300,000 courses a month, to supply both local and international demand," the RDIF head said.

Dmitriev this past Saturday said that Latin American countries will be the first to receive supplies of Avifavir. The head of the RDIF has also asked for the treatment to be distributed to outpatients, given that the drug is most effective when used at the very beginning of the illness.