Scientists from Institute of Chemistry under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) have found a method to shorten the synthesis process of Favipiravir, an antiviral medication used to treat COVID-19.
Scientists from the Institute of Chemistry study the synthesis of Favipiravir. (Photo: Institute of Chemistry)
Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Tuyen, Director of the Institute of Chemistry, has informed that the Institute has successfully researched a new and effective method of synthesizing Favipiravir in the laboratory. He said that Favipiravir has a mechanism of inhibiting the RNA-polymerase enzyme that prevents viral replication, similar to the anti-COVID-19 drug Remdesivir, but can be taken orally.
This research result contributes to the joint efforts of Vietnamese scientists in researching drugs, vaccines and biological products for COVID-19 prevention and control.
In the near future, scientists from the Institute of Chemistry will continue to perfect and scale up the process of synthesizing this drug.
From February 2020, China was the first country to license the use of Favipiravir to treat COVID-19, followed by Russia, Japan, India and Italy.
In Vietnam, under the direction of the VAST President, in August 2020, the Institute of Chemistry formed a research group to carry out research on the effective synthesis of Favipiravir used in the treatment of COVID-19.
After six months, the team completed the lab-scale synthesis of Favipiravir.
On the basis of previously announced processes, the research team has improved and shortened the four steps and used cheaper and easier-to-find materials./.
BTA