Local firm applies for registration of Ivermectin for human use

MANILA, Philippines — A local pharmaceutical firm has applied for a certificate product registration (CPR) of Ivermectin for human use, as proponents push for its consideration to become an affordable treatment for COVID-19.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director-General Eric Domingo told INQUIRER.net in a text message that Lloyd Laboratories Inc. has applied for a CPR before the agency last Wednesday.

In an online press briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire also announced that an application for CPR was filed before the FDA. However, she added that no one has applied to conduct clinical trials for Ivermectin yet.

“May mga nakapagsubmit na local manufacturers ng CPR, application for CPR, dito sa FDA pero as to clinical trials walang nagsubmit,” she said.

(There are local manufacturers that have applied for CPR before the FDA, but no one has applied to conduct clinical trials.)

Vergeire said proponents of Ivermectin have agreed to provide available evidence for the safety and efficacy of the drug for COVID-19 treatment so that experts can study it further.

She also assured that the Department of Health (DOH) is “very much open” to consider other drugs that could benefit COVID-19 patients.

However, Vergeire stressed that scientific evidence is needed to ensure the safety and efficacy of these drugs.

According to Vergeire, a group of medical societies engaged with the DOH is also studying evidences about the benefits of Ivermectin.

“We will see within the week ‘yung resulta para makapagbigay tayo ng information sa ating mga kababayan [We will see within the week the results of their study so we can provide information to the public],” she said.

Nevertheless, she noted that even the World Health Organization recommends to confine the use of Ivermectin for clinical trials due to lack of sufficient data to support its benefits.

The DOH and the FDA earlier advised against the use of Ivermectin for COVID-19 medication, saying the drug is not registered for human treatment and that the only approved Ivermectin drug in the country is for animal and veterinary use.

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