Triazavirin as a striking example of successful interaction between Russian science and business

On September 26, 2024, TASS hosted an expert discussion in the format of a federal teleconference Moscow-St. Petersburg-Ekaterinburg-Novosibirsk-Vologda-Anapa, dedicated to discussing the role, reasons and mechanisms for stimulating private investment in science. In Ekaterinburg, Alexander Petrov, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Medsintez Plant LLC, told the participants about Triazavirin, an innovative domestic antiviral drug, as a success case of private investment in science.

Today, when science and technology are rapidly advancing, private investment plays a key role in supporting breakthrough research. Science determines the future of society, and the participation of entrepreneurs and philanthropists is getting especially important for promoting innovative solutions and strengthening the national economy.

The Medsintez Plant is an active participant in the implementation of drug import substitution programs in the Russian Federation. The company has been ensuring the drug safety of Russia for 20 years through the production of vital drugs, as well as constantly developing by launching new production lines of innovative drugs. Such as Primapur, for treatment of human infertility, and Triazavirin, a direct-acting antiviral drug that helped to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, among other things.

«What is helping now is that in the recent years a number of foreign companies have decided to cancel supplies of some groups of drugs to Russia and, no doubt, this is a chance, a real opportunity, and a necessity for our country to meet emerging needs, develop and bring our own domestic drugs to the market. For this purpose, the Russian Government offers many programs to support manufacturers, those who invest in science,» said Alexander Petrov at the press conference.

A striking example of successful cooperation between Russian scientists and business is the antiviral drug Triazavirin. The drug was created in collaboration with the Ural branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and academicians Oleg Chupakhin, Vladimir Rusinov, and Valery Charushin, as well as with Professor Dmitry Lioznov, representing the Research Institute of Influenza of the Russian Ministry of Health. It has been a long journey from scaling up the production technology of the Triazavirin drug in 2014 to reaching production quantities that were sufficient to cover the need for antiviral drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

«This year, Triazavirin is celebrating its 10th anniversary, but it took the same amount of time to develop the production technology, test the drug, and conduct full-scale clinical trials proving its effectiveness and safety. Over that period, the drug has gained recognition in the medical community: it was included in the clinical recommendations of the Russian Ministry of Health for the treatment of influenza and acute respiratory viral infections as a first-line drug with direct antiviral action. Triazavirin acts on the cause of the disease, it stops the reproduction of viruses,» noted Alexander Petrov.

The Triazavirin project is constantly evolving and acquiring new indications. For example, in 2023, the Russian Ministry of Health added a new indication to the drug instructions: prevention of COVID-19. At present, Triazavirin is the only direct-acting antiviral drug approved by the Russian Ministry of Health for the prevention of COVID-19.

The issue of infectious pathology becomes more and more urgent every year. Therefore, since 2023, studies have been conducted on the prevention of acute respiratory viral infections in adults and treatment of fevers (for example, dengue fever). The first results show the effectiveness and safety of Triazavirin.

A pediatric dosage of Triazavirin – 100 mg – will be available soon. Clinical trials have been successfully conducted for children aged 6 to 17, which proved the effectiveness and safety of the drug in children. Now the Medsintez Plant is awaiting completion of all necessary procedures established by the Russian Ministry of Health. Soon, pediatricians will have a new effective and safe drug for treating acute respiratory viral infections in children, and parents of young patients will be able to rest assured that they have chosen a drug that acts on the cause of the disease.

We can talk about the importance of such drugs endlessly; etiotropic drugs are already recognized as first-line therapeutics for adults. Currently, there is a serious shortage of such drugs for the treatment of acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI) in children. Because not only influenza can cause complications. In recent years, cases of complications after ARVI have become more frequent, they are often caused by late treatment or lack of therapy.

Projects of cooperation with state scientific universities and institutes have a great future and great opportunities for providing assistance to doctors and patients. In the pharmaceutical industry, projects within the framework of such partnerships are not just important, they are vital for ensuring the drug safety of the Russian population. However, many difficulties arise along the way.

«As for the issue of investments, bringing a drug to registration is one thing, and introducing it to doctors is a different thing, which is also a certain difficulty. There are some other difficulties: searching for domestic ingredients, setting up production processes, and laboratory studies on Russian components, respectively. According to statistics, only 1 in 10 drugs undergoes clinical trials, which means that we have achieved success. I believe that we, as a private investor, have played a major role in accelerating the transfer of scientific achievements into high-tech products. Private investment can be compared to a jeweler cutting a precious stone – the achievements of Russian science. Also, the scientific progress and developments created within the framework of partnership with business representatives directly affect the patriotism of citizens. People see real products that they can use, and not just use, but recover and improve their quality of life. That is, our example of Triazavirin is a striking one, and the result of the cooperation between Russian scientists and private business speaks for itself in this case,» said Alexander Petrov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Medsintez Plant.

During the discussion, experts came to the conclusion that the development of domestic medicine and pharmaceuticals requires 20 times more investment in the research and development of new innovative drugs. Since only a few drugs developed reach clinical trials, while these projects need a lot of investment. According to Alexander Petrov, it is necessary to support universities and institutes engaged in fundamental science without demanding a final result from them – the essence of the problem is that educational institutions cannot spend the funds allocated by the state without showing a result, therefore, an important role belongs to patronage.

In his address to the Federal Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined the goal of increasing investment in key sectors by 70% by 2030, as well as doubling investment in scientific research to 2% of GDP. To achieve this ambitious target, active participation of private capital is required to implement large-scale research and technological projects.

Photo – TASS-Ural press center, picture by Vladislav Burnashev.

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