The Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the "Vector" Center for Virology and Biotechnology have transferred the first batch of the anti-smallpox drug "NIOH-14" to the Ministry of Health. The ministry will decide on its use, TASS was told by the director of the institute, Elena Bagryanskaya.
The drug has passed two stages of clinical trials, is intended for hospital use and will not be available for free sale. The mechanism of action is targeted effect on orthopoxviruses: the drug prevents viral particles from leaving infected cells, suppressing the spread of infection. According to Bagryanskaya, it is primarily designed to support those who received the smallpox vaccine developed at Vector.
Before NIOH-14, there was no chemical drug in Russia for the treatment and emergency prevention of smallpox and other orthopoxviral diseases. The drug has also shown efficacy against monkeypox, an important factor in light of recent cases of the disease in the Leningrad Region and the Moscow Region in tourists returning from Thailand.
The production base for serial production is still being formed. In the spring of 2026, NIOH SB RAS plans to complete the certification of clean rooms created with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science and intended for the production of substances for medicinal products. "Vector" is ready to provide a state order.
Smallpox is the only infection defeated by global vaccination: the last case was recorded in Somalia in 1977. Today, only two institutions in the world have the right to store the virus and work with it - the Russian "Vector" and the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
