Double liability company Interchem, a pharmaceutical company based in Odesa, has received the permit of the Health Ministry of Ukraine for conducting clinical testing of antiviral medicine Amixin for effectiveness in treatment of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Director General of the company Anatoliy Reder told Interfax-Ukraine that a respective decree of the Health Ministry was signed on May 14.
He also said that the company requested the consideration of the application on clinical trials of Amixin due to the fact that the medicine had previously shown its effectiveness against a number of dangerous viral infections. During preclinical trials, it was proved that tilorone (the active substance of Amixin medicine) has antiviral activity against a number of strains of ordinary coronaviruses.
Several international research centers have already conducted and are carrying out testing of tilorone against SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
“As we can see, not only do we consider Amixin as a potentially effective medicine against COVID-19, but also researchers abroad,” he said.
Reder said that, in particular, such trials were conducted at the Institut Pasteur Korea (South Korea), and in two research centers in the United States as well.
“Based on the data of preclinical trials showing the highly effective antiviral effect of tilorone against SARS-CoV-2, we applied to the Health Ministry for approval of the third phase of clinical testing to expand the range of use of Amixin medicine and obtain evidence on its efficiency and safety for treating patients with COVID-19 infection,” he said.
According to Reder, clinical trials of Amixin will be conducted by research centers in three cities of Ukraine. In general, a trial may take three to four months from the moment the Health Ministry gave a permit for conducting it to the pharmaceutical company.
“The duration of the clinical trial will primarily depend on the speed of patient enrollment. At this stage, it is planned to include more than 60 volunteers in the study who, according to the severity of the disease, will be on self-isolation and undergo outpatient treatment,” he said.
Reder said that the research doctors who confirmed their readiness to conduct this trial are highly motivated, first of all, by their scientific interest and the opportunity to make their contribution to the search for a solution, which is so urgent for the whole world of medical and social problem that the new coronavirus has become.
Interchem is one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the country.
