(Natural News) Russia has announced that it has developed an "antidote" against Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) infections. The country's medical regulator touted the new drug's efficacy rate of "more than 99 percent" based on previous studies.

If clinical trials are successful, Russia's new drug will be the first etiotropic COVID-19 medication – a treatment that directly targets the cause of a disease.

The Russian Federal Medical-Biological Agency (FMBA) said Dec. 30 that its potential anti-COVID drug would become the world's first direct-acting antiviral antidote. FMBA Head Veronika Skvortsova remarked: "This is the first etiotropic drug that directly affects the virus. In fact, this is an antidote for coronavirus infection."

Skvortsova informed Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin that pre-clinical studies on the drug have been completed. The same studies have shown the antidote to be "completely safe" and "highly efficient." She also told Mishustin that the FMBA is ready to apply for further permission to test out the drug.

"If clinical trials confirm the effectiveness of this drug – it will be the first safe, effective [and] direct-acting antiviral drug that has no analogs in the world," Skvortsova commented. The drug has registered a more than 99 percent efficacy rate in clinical trials.

Aside from this new coronavirus antidote, the FMBA is also looking at a separate drug for treating more severe COVID-19 cases. The rheumatoid arthritis drug olokizumab, as retooled by Russian drugmaker R-Pharm, is said to be able to address cytokine storms in the body caused by SARS-CoV-2. A cytokine storm or hypercytokinemia is an immune response triggered by an overload of the body's immune system to fight off the virus. Cytokine storms lead to body tissue damage and have been thought to cause the majority of COVID-19 fatalities.