Arbidol will save the world?

Five questions about the Russian drug that coronavirus want to treat

On the eve of the National Health Commission of China published the sixth version of the preliminary plan for the diagnosis and treatment of the disease, which included the drug with the active substance of Umifenavir. In the message of the Chinese doctors, it was about a medicine called 阿比多尔, which some Russian media translated as Arbidol, while others insisted that Abydole was talking about, which had nothing to do with Russians popular with Russians. So, due to the peculiarities of transliteration from the Chinese, confusion arose: did specialists from the PRC decide to treat coronavirus with “Arbidol”, whose effectiveness has doubts even in the treatment of a cold and influenza?

Chinese authorities really recognized Arbidol with a cord with coronavirus?

The new plan for the diagnosis and treatment of Covid-19 first included antiviral drugs, among which was Abidol, or Arbidol. However, in this situation, it is impossible to unequivocally say that China recognized this drug with a cord of coronavirus pneumonia. The fact is that Abidol was introduced into a large -scale testing program as one of the possible medicines that can alleviate the course of the disease, explains the molecular biologist and scientific journalist Irina Yakutenko. In a word, Umifenavir's effectiveness in the treatment of coronavirus has to be checked.

Is Arbidol and Abidol the same thing?

“Abidol” is an antiviral drug with the active substance Umifenavir, known in Russia under the name “Arbidol”. It was developed in the USSR back in 1974, and in 2007 the patent expired, and only the Arbidol trademark registered by Pharmstandart (Russian manufacturer) remained. In 2011, the World Health Organization fixed the international non -parted name - Umifenovir for the drug. In China, several generics of this medicine are produced, their names in Chinese look and sound the same. However, some of the manufacturers write it differently by Latin: Abidol, Arbidol, Aribidol, or even Abidor.

Meanwhile, in India called "Abidol" an opioid analgesic is registered, who could hardly get into the plan for the treatment of coronavirus. The Bell with reference to three Chineseists claims that the name indicated by the Ministry of Health of China sounds precisely as “Arbidol”. In the Chinese media, at the mention of the drug, it is noted that it is developed in the USSR. The study of applications for clinical trials, press releases of pharmaceutical companies and other open sources allows us to conclude that the Chinese authorities really talk about the usual Russians of Arbidol medicine, Yakutenko concludes.

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Does the Arbidol have proven clinical efficiency?

A small number of clinical trials carried out demonstrated the antiviral efficiency of Arbidol, but it is approximately the same as other drugs for influenza or colds, said Vasily Vlasov, a doctor of medical sciences and a member of the Society of Evidence Medicine Specialists. Many experts indicate that there are no drugs that would affect the causative agents of a cold, and Umifenovir is capable of, unless, to reduce the severity of the disease.

In most European countries, doctors do not practice antiviral treatment, but pay attention to the prevention and treatment of symptoms of colds.

Yakutenko explains that there were no studies that would have been conducted according to all the rules and international standards, so one cannot confidently talk about the proven effectiveness of the Arbidol. It suggests that selling a medicine without testing can simply be beneficial to the market.

In early February, Chinese experts spoke of the possible effectiveness of the drug in the fight against coronavirus. According to the virologist Lee Lanjuan, Umifenovir is able to inhibit the pathological effect of Covid-19 on cells. The Chinese manufacturer Ssy Group Limited assures that the medicine can stimulate the production of interferon with the body of the sick. However, this was still not confirmed by tests.

Where else is Arbidol still popular, except for Russia?

The Russian government introduced Arbidol to the list of vital and most important drugs.

According to DSM Group, it is one of the most popular antiviral agents in the country.

However, WHO refused to recognize Umifenovir with influenza medicine due to “insufficient data on efficiency or safety”, and the American authorities did not certify the drug as a drug. In addition to Russia and China, the drug is actively used in some CIS countries. In Kazakhstan, it is produced under the Afludol brand, in Belarus the drug is known as Arpepol and Arpeflu, and the Kiev farm company Darnitsa produces it under the Immustat trademark. Umifenovir is also released in the Netherlands - under the name "Orvitol NP".

What is coronavirus are being treated in China now?

Chinese doctors are now testing about 30 drugs that could be used in the treatment of coronavirus. Among them there are antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV. We are talking about the medicine "Aluvia", which in Russia is better known as "Caletra". A number of flu funds are also tested. Experts hope that the mechanisms of infection against which these drugs are aimed are similar to coronavirus, so to obtain a similar effect you can beat in the same target. In the new version of the recommendations for the treatment of Covid-19, the Ministry of Health of the PRC included chlorochinfosphate, as well as ribavirin in combination with interferon or lopinavir/ritonavir.

At the moment, Chinese doctors are already using sprayed alpha-interferon, which patients inhale twice a day. Experts also called an effective treatment for the transfusion of blood plasma overflowing from Covid-19 to those who are still in serious condition. The fact is that the plasma of the chilled already contains antibodies that help fight the virus.