(@FahadShabbir)

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th April, 2020) Russia's Federal Medical-Biological Agency (FMBA) says that is has developed a treatment for COVID-19 based on the drug Dalargin, and clinical trials of the treatment are getting underway, the agency's press service stated on Monday.

"The Federal Medical-Biological Agency has developed a treatment for severe forms of pneumonia that lead to respiratory failure caused by coronavirus, based on ... the synthetic hexapeptide Dalargin," the agency said in a statement.

Dalargin is already accredited in Russia as a treatment for trophic ulcers and protecting vital organs such as the lungs and liver, the agency noted.

The new treatment has already been tested on animals, with success rates between 70 and 100 percent, the agency stated.

"Given the high tolerance and safety of Dalargin, which has been proven in tests, the FMBA is today launching clinical trials of Dalargin for the treatment of severe pneumonia caused by coronavirus, which is accompanied by respiratory failure and the risk of developing acute respiratory distress syndrome," the agency's head Veronika Skvortsova said in the statement.�