Russia approves Covid-19 drug for use

MOSCOW: Russia would start giving its first drug approved to treat Covid19 to patients next week, its state financial backer said.

Russian hospitals could begin giving the antiviral drug, which is registered under the name Avifavir, to patients from June 11, Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund, said.

He said the company behind the drug would manufacture enough to treat about 60 000 people a month.

Avifavir was first developed in the late 1990s by a Japanese company. Russian scientists had modified the drug to enhance it, and said Moscow would be ready to share the details in two weeks.