MANILA (UPDATING)—The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said Monday that the Philippines will conduct a clinical trial to determine the effectiveness of ivermectin against COVID-19.
The development contradicted an earlier statement by the department head that such a trial was not necessary because a number of others were already being done.
DOST Secretary Fortunato dela Peña said in a broadcast public briefing that he had an agreement with Health Minister Francisco Duque III on Saturday that they will look for experts to handle the process.
Dr. Aileen Wang from the UP-PGH Department of Medicine is part of the tasting panel, Dela Peña said.
“Hopefully, by the end of that trial, we will have a more reliable estimate of the effect of ivermectin as an antiviral agent that can reduce virus shedding in mild and moderate (COVID-19) patients,” he said.
(Hopefully, the study will provide more reliable estimates of the effects of ivermectin as an antiviral agent that will reduce virus shedding in mild and moderate patients.)
Dela Peña added that the effectiveness of the anti-parasite drug will also be seen in the length of hospital admissions of coronavirus patients.
Just a week ago, the DOST secretary said there was no need to conduct an ivermectin clinical trial, as it “can take a minimum of 6 months and can go up to years,” and 20 are “nearing completion” and 40 “ongoing” clinical studies. studies of its efficacy in the treatment of COVID-19 worldwide.
He added that the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development of DOST “had taken the position that there is no need to conduct another clinical trial in the Philippines, as most of the ongoing studies or clinical trials have already started since 2020. “
“It would be appropriate to await the results of these studies, which have already made significant progress in terms of data collection and performance of interim analyzes,” Dela Peña had said.
Last week, the Philippine Food and Drug Administration granted a second hospital a special license to use ivermectin for its COVID-19 patients, acknowledging there was some “pressure” to approve it.
The drug regulator explained that the compassionate special permit allows experimental or unregistered drugs for limited off-label use, but getting a drug does not mean the drug has proven effective, as it requires a clinical trial.
Registered ivermectin products are for veterinary use only and are intended only for the treatment of internal and external parasites, as well as for the prevention of heartworm disease, the health department said earlier.
Unauthorized use of veterinary drugs can lead to brain damage and death, said infectious disease expert Dr. Edsel Maurice Salvana.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended the use of ivermectin in patients with COVID-19, except for clinical studies, due to a lack of data demonstrating its benefits.
Dela Peña, meanwhile, said they are investigating other medications such as melatonin and methylprednisolone, and herbal treatments such as lagundi, tawa-tawa and virgin coconut oil.
FDA Director General Eric Domingo, meanwhile, said there are 88 vaccines in clinical development worldwide and 184 others in pre-trials.–With a report by Joyce Balancio, ABS-CBN News
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