On 2017 Dec 26, Elena Gavrilova commented:

The detailed answers to all E.V. Dueva’s comments regarding this article have been already published and could be found here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28036118 Briefly, Anaferon for children is not homeopathic drug; the manufacturing process of the drug preparation was described in the article concisely; the detailed answers to the concerns regarding experimental design have been provided; information about financial support was presented in the article.

On 2017 Dec 13, Evgenia V Dueva commented:

The Anaferon for children (AC) is homeopathic preparation. The authors state that «AC contained RAF of Abs to IFN-γ is a mixture of 12, 30,and 50 centesimal dilutions of antibodies to IFN-γ». RAF(release active form) of Abs (antibodies) is not an accepted scientific concept and the term appears only in the articles involving the commercial products of «MATERIA MEDICA HOLDING». According to Avogadro's law, 12 or more centesimal dilutions lead to a lack of any active substance in any amount of solution that a mouse can drink. It seems that AC is a disguised version of homeopathy and the authors have confused the reviewers with their vague description of AC.

Given the fact that there is no accepted mechanism of action for any treatment with such dilutions as in the case of AC and composition of initial AC solutions is unknown the simpler explanation for the observed antiviral effects is bias introduced by lack of proper randomization and blinding or the influence of undeclared contaminants.

In addition, this statement contradicts itself: «The authors declare no conflict of interest. Four authors have an affiliation to the commercial funders of this research study (OOO «NPF «MATERIA MEDICA HOLDING»)». «MATERIA MEDICA HOLDING» produces and markets AC, so the authors do have a conflict of interest. Even more, Oleg I. Epstein is the CEO of OOO «NPF «MATERIA MEDICA HOLDING».

The critical comment on this paper was published and can be found here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmv.24761/full

On 2017 Dec 13, Evgenia V Dueva commented:

The Anaferon for children (AC) is homeopathic preparation. The authors state that «AC contained RAF of Abs to IFN-γ is a mixture of 12, 30,and 50 centesimal dilutions of antibodies to IFN-γ». RAF(release active form) of Abs (antibodies) is not an accepted scientific concept and the term appears only in the articles involving the commercial products of «MATERIA MEDICA HOLDING». According to Avogadro's law, 12 or more centesimal dilutions lead to a lack of any active substance in any amount of solution that a mouse can drink. It seems that AC is a disguised version of homeopathy and the authors have confused the reviewers with their vague description of AC.

Given the fact that there is no accepted mechanism of action for any treatment with such dilutions as in the case of AC and composition of initial AC solutions is unknown the simpler explanation for the observed antiviral effects is bias introduced by lack of proper randomization and blinding or the influence of undeclared contaminants.

In addition, this statement contradicts itself: «The authors declare no conflict of interest. Four authors have an affiliation to the commercial funders of this research study (OOO «NPF «MATERIA MEDICA HOLDING»)». «MATERIA MEDICA HOLDING» produces and markets AC, so the authors do have a conflict of interest. Even more, Oleg I. Epstein is the CEO of OOO «NPF «MATERIA MEDICA HOLDING».

The critical comment on this paper was published and can be found here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmv.24761/full