On June 9-14, 2019, the 4th Russian MedChem-Russia 2019 Conference on medical chemistry with international participation was held in Yekaterinburg, where the results of studies on the use of the original Triazavirin antiviral drug in the treatment and prevention of viral diseases were presented. The main goal of this series of international conferences is to get a deeper insight into innovations, new approaches and advanced technologies in the field of medical chemistry and drug development.
The grand opening of the conference at the Ural Federal University named after B. Yeltsyn, the first Russian President, coincided with the jubilee of O. Chupakhin, Doctor of Chemical Sciences, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, scientific adviser at the Institute of Organic Synthesis, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He was the developer of the original class of azoloazines, the first representative of which (the Triazavirin antiviral drug) was successfully introduced into actual clinical practice several years ago. At the opening, the report “The Ural School of Organic Chemists. Milestones. The present day” was delivered by Professor V. Saloutin, the Associate Member of the Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Chemistry. He introduced Triazavirin as a drug created by the Ural Chemical School in collaboration with the Influenza Institute of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and the Medsintez plant. The drug is effective in the treatment and prevention of viral infections at any stage of the disease, including the influenza virus of any etiology. The drug offers a unique, innovative antiviral mechanism - it affects the cause of a disease rather than the body's immunity.
This development of the institutes of the Academies of Sciences, RAS and RAMS, won the most prestigious pharmaceutical prize - Prix Galien Russia. The chemical part of the development involved the Ural Polytechnic Institute and the Organic Synthesis Institute named after I. Postovsky (the Ural Department of RAS). The subsequent stages - scaling the technology, clinical trials and commercialization - were carried out on the premises of the Ural Centre for Biopharmaceutical Technologies (the resident of the Skolkovo Foundation). Triazavirin is a good example of bringing a Russian research idea to production and entering the pharmaceutical market.
The research was possible not only due to university experts but also to the fact that we created a single scientific school with the Organic Synthesis Institute. With the molecule obtained, a very important period followed - investigating it jointly with the Influenza Institute. Afterwards, organic studies took place in medical institutions. An important point was to find an investor who would be willing to invest in making this new molecule recognized as an important and low-toxic antiviral remedy. In particular, Triazavirin is currently produced at the Medsintez plant. And of course, there are all prerequisites to develop our relations with leading real-economy enterprises in the future,” says M.Varaksin, Director of the Chemical Engineering Institute.
Triazavirin has a wide range of antiviral effects, which are described in the “Introduction to real medical practice and the experience of using the Triazavirin drug for RNA genomic viral infections” lecture by V. Verevshchikov, PhD, Associate Professor of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Immunology GBOU VPO UPMU of the Ministry of Health of Russia. According to the results of clinical trials, Triazavirin helps even with a delayed start of treating acute respiratory viral infections and influenza, improves well-being already on the first day, reduces risks of complications; quickly stops clinical signs of a rotavirus infection and prevents condition aggravation; it is effective against RNA viral infections (dengue fever, serous meningitis, tick-borne encephalitis). It reduces the recovery time and the duration of clinical symptoms (intoxication, fever, catarrhal phenomena), regardless of the course starting moment. The treatment is well tolerated by patients and is never accompanied by development of any adverse reactions.
Thanks to the conference, it was shown that strong ties have been established in the Urals between research and educational institutions that work in the field of organic synthesis and medical chemistry and pharmaceutical manufacturers. This enables us to solve the strategic problem of providing our population with highly effective domestic drugs.
