Favipiravir Earns Temporary Approval in Russia

Russia’s Ministry of Health has temporarily approved a generic version of the antiviral favipiravir for use in coronavirus patients, following promising preliminary study results.

The Russian government said that Avifavir, its copycat version of Fujifilm’s flu treatment Avigan, was very effective in treating COVID-19 patients in clinical trials. The final stage of the Russian study, which was approved by the government on May 21, is ongoing and involves 330 patients.

Favipiravir  has been approved in Japan since 2014 for treating severe influenza.