The Triazavirin Medication Became the Hero of the COVID-19 Project

15:16, May 6, 2021

The molecule used as the basis for production of the drug was synthesized within the walls of the university

Triazavirin is increasingly proving to be highly effective in treating coronavirus. This topic was the focus of the webinar "The possibility of using riamilovir for coronavirus infection", which was held as part of the project "COVID-19 - opinion of leading scientists and practitioners". Many well-known scientists and physicians of Russia participated in the webinar: Valery Charushin, Vladimir Rusinov, Nikita Lomakin, Alebay Sabitov, Kirill Zykov.

During the webinar, Valery Charushin, representative of the group of Triazavirin developers, the head of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, spoke about the history of the creation and development of the drug. He emphasized that Triazavirin is an original drug developed on the basis of the institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The drug works not at the moment of entering the cell but directly in the cell blocking synthesis of viral RNA.

Valery Charushin emphasized that Triazavirin passed all phases of multicenter clinical trials and proved its effectiveness against influenza and acute respiratory viral infections and also passed clinical trials against SARS-CoV-2 virus. In particular, military medics conducted a comparative study of the clinical efficacy and safety of Triazavirin in the treatment of patients with COVID-19 and received positive results of use. In 2020, they have already made their choice and included Triazavirin in the Standard of Treatment for New Coronavirus Infection (COVID-19) in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

During the webinar, Alebay Sabitov, Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Immunology at the Ural State Medical University, spoke about the clinical experience with Triazavirin at five clinical centers in 2020. He elaborated on the studies at City Hospital No. 14 in Yekaterinburg, where Triazavirin was tested against COVID-19 in collaboration with the Ural State Medical University. Two studies were conducted to study the effectiveness and safety of the drug in the treatment of patients with COVID-19, as well as the effectiveness and safety of prophylactic use of Triazavirin in new coronavirus infection in industrial and family foci.

The studies showed 97.5% efficacy of the drug in case of prophylactic use and 100% efficacy in treatment of patients with COVID-19. This is evidenced by the positive clinical dynamics of patients as well as laboratory parameters and the results of PCR-testing. Tolerability of the drug in both trials was noted as good, no significant adverse reactions or side effects were identified.

It should be reminded that Triazavirin originated in the Ural Polytechnic Institute (now UrFU). The molecule that became the basis of the future drug was synthesized in the laboratory of the Department of Organic Chemistry.

"The drug has a very long history: we conducted the first studies in this direction back in the 80s of the last century," says Vladimir Rusinov, professor at the UrFU, who was personally involved in these scientific studies. "Already at that time we realized that the molecule obtained has a powerful antiviral effect. Of course, we are proud that Triazavirin turned out to be very effective in treating coronavirus as well. It has already proven its effectiveness in Russia and China, and now it is being studied in South Africa."

Triazavirin experts also based on the results of Russian and foreign colleagues, in which the drug showed effectiveness in treating COVID-19: due to the direct antiviral effect, it reduces inflammatory reactions and thus reduces the damage to vital organs and reduces the need for therapeutic support.

Reference

The "COVID-19 - opinion of the leading scientists and practitioners" project is being implemented under the auspices of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the National Inflammatory Society, the Central Clinical Hospital with Polyclinic of the Russian Federation Presidential Administration, and the Research Institute of Pulmonology at the Federal Medical and Biological Agency of Russia.

The idea of the project is based on the need to provide reliable and proven information on the problem of COVID-19, current data on epidemiology, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, organizational measures, given the flow of unprofessional, unverified and contradictory information.