Pressure sa FDA! Unlicensed ivermectin pushed as COVID-19 treatment drug

By Billy Begas

Deputy Speaker Bernadette Herrera said Ivermectin could be the inexpensive alternative medicine for COVID-19.

Herrera made the statement after learning that two food-drug regulation officer of the Food and Drug Administration recommended lifting the directive banning Ivermectin from being used on COVID-19 patients.

“This could be a major step to recognizing Ivermectin as an inexpensive and effective alternative medicine for the deadly coronavirus disease,” Herrera said.

Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug originally intended for animals. It is currently being used in several countries to treat COVID-19 patients.

“In the absence of an efficient treatment that can be used for the management of COVID-19, our regulators must maintain a more open mind and take a closer look at Ivermectin as a possible cure for the disease, which has so far killed more than 13,000 people across the country,” said Herrera.

Remdesivir, an experimental drug being used to treat COVID-19-infected patients, costs around P28,000 per vial and must be administered twice daily until such time the patient is discharged.

Ivermectin, on the other hand, costs only around P35, to be administered once daily for three days, which means one needs to spend only a little over P100 for the entire treatment.

Earlier, Speaker Lord Allan Jay Velasco urged FDA to “look into the safety and efficacy of Ivermectin and other repurposed drugs for COVID-19”.

“People have become desperate for a cure. Fast-tracking clinical trials and processes to either grant Ivermectin an emergency use authority or conclusively declaring it unsafe will put the matter to rest,” said Velasco. “These are desperate times that call for a more proactive regulatory approach. People need alternative remedies to prevent or treat COVID-19.”

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)