Clinical efficacy of Аrbidol (umifenovir) in the therapy of influenza in adults: Preliminary results of the multicenter double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study ARBITR

Mycophenolic acid, an immunomodulator, has potent and broad-spectrum in vitro antiviral activity against pandemic, seasonal and avian influenza viruses affecting humans

“…Arbidol, which inhibits several steps of the influenza virus life cycle, has been approved for clinical use in Russia and China (Blaising et al, 2014). A recent randomized controlled trial in Russia showed that this drug can hasten the resolution of symptoms (Kiselev et al, 2015). Other novel antivirals, such as DAS181, are still undergoing clinical trials (Zumla et al, 2014).…”

Clinical Features of 69 Cases With Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Wuhan, China

“…28 (42%) patients were tested for respiratory pathogen antibody with blood samples and 4 were positive, including 2 cases of chlamydia IgG, 1 case of syncytial virus IgM, 1 case of adenovirus IgM. No immunosuppressive therapies were used during the anti-infection course.In a multicenter double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study, compared with the placebo, arbidol reduced the time to elimination of symptoms and abated the positive rate of influenza on day 4 (25 vs 53%, p < 0.05)[7]. Arbidol was licensed for upper respiratory tract infection caused by influenza A / B virus in China.…”

Umifenovir susceptibility monitoring and characterization of influenza viruses isolated during ARBITR clinical study

“…Due to the acute nature of influenza infection and the efficacy umifenovir on reduction of virus yield in the nasal cavities of patients, the number of virus pairs was low. It was shown in the clinical section of ARBITR that the number of patients shedding influenza virus 4 days after initiation of therapy was reduced in the umifenovir‐treated group compared with placebo ( P < 0.5) …”

“…The study protocol was approved by The Ministry of Health, Moscow, Russia. The design of ARBITR study was described previously . Briefly, adults aged 18 to 65 years were eligible for inclusion if they presented to the unit within 36 hours after onset of symptoms suggestive of influenza‐like illness.…”

“…A double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled Phase IV ARBITR clinical trial was conducted during 2011 to 2016 influenza seasons (ClinicalTrials ID: NCT01651663) to assess the safety of umifenovir, Arbidol®), its effectiveness in the clinical management of influenza and other acute respiratory viral infections. The preliminary results of the ARBITR clinical trial were described by Kiselev et al Here, we examined the antiviral susceptibility of seasonal influenza A viruses isolated from patients before and during administration of umifenovir in ARBITR clinical trial.…”