Russia develops several preparations blocking COVID-19 replication, Health Minister says

MOSCOW, January 20. /TASS/. Russian developers have created a number of preparations blocking replication of the coronavirus but so far there are no data on their clinical trials, Russian Healthcare Minister Mikhail Murashko said at the Federation Council on Wednesday. "To date, there are several such solutions, these are precisely the preparations that block replication of the agent at various stages. There are preparations that are undergoing [pre-clinical trials], there are preparations undergoing clinical trials. Still, so far there are no data on the conclusion of clinical trials, even Phase One, for these preparations," he said in response to a question on the state of development of new preparations against the coronavirus. The minister added that special attention is given to these pharmaceuticals. "As for these preparations, they are monitored separately. And I will reiterate - there is absolutely no competition [between] vaccines and medicinal preparations," he said, explaining that healthcare workers should have both instruments available in order to fight the pandemic. He also emphasized that several innovative pharmaceuticals for treatment of the coronavirus infection were registered. "Today it’s about three preparations," the minister said. According to the latest global statistics, about 96.2 mln people have been infected worldwide and over 2 mln deaths have been reported. To date, 3,633,952 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 3,027,316 patients having recovered from the disease. Russia’s latest data indicates 67,220 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation. Read more