Bio-technology company Rigvir has decided to halt distribution of Rigvir medication in Latvia temporarily, as confirmed by Rigvir Group CEO Kristīne Jučkoviča.

However, the company maintains existing medication registration.

«The decision was made due to financial reasons – distribution of Rigvir in Latvia is simply unprofitable. Our company’s financial capacity is limited to ensure compliance with European centralized registration requirements and administrative requirements for medication distribution in Latvia at the same time. Our decision is not related to any emergencies or possible risks for public health,» explains Jučkoviča.

This decision also puts on hold the of Aina Muceniece’s virotherapy programme.

Last year, the company commenced restructuring to develop products on an international level.

LNT programme De Facto reported in 2017 that three professional medical organizations sent a letter to Healthcare Ministry and other institutions. In this letter they questioned the efficacy of Rigvir. Experts said studies and publications about Rigvir are not conclusive. For example, one of the studies analysed two groups of patients – one group used Rigvir and the other did not. Authors of the letter believe results of this study are questionable – patients using Rigvir also underwent chemotherapy. The two publications studied entries from patient cards, not the patients themselves. This kind of approach tends to be insufficient to conclude that the tested medicine can be trusted.