ChemRar's Avifavir effective against variants of COVID-19

Russian drugmaker ChemRar Group says that its Avifavir (favipiravir) drug is effective against various variants of SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus), including Delta and Omicron, as it affects the highly conservative and mutation-resistant replication systems of RNA virus (RdRp) via three complementary mechanisms, resulting in complete blockade of the viral infection.

In addition, the virus is incapable of developing resistance to favipiravir even with long-term exposure on infected cells, as has been confirmed in clinical trials. This provides Avifavir with a major advantage not only over highly specific biologics but also over many other similar nucleoside products prone to inducing rapid evolution of resistant clinical variants.

The problem of rapid mutation is particularly typical of RNA viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus). Most of the mutations are found in the spike protein structure, in particular in two of its key parts that are recognized by the human immune system.