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Remdesivir still under clinical trial in Philippines —DOH
By DONA MAGSINO, GMA News Remdesivir, which gained authorization from Japan and the US for the treatment of COVID-19, is part of the ongoing clinical trial in the Philippines, according to the Department of Health.
"Remdesivir is one of the investigational drugs included in the WHO Solidarity Trial, which the Philippines is participating in," Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a statement released Thursday night.
She added this medicine has been developed initially for the possible treatment of ebola and there had been some early evidence that this may reduce the duration of COVID-19 illness.
Both US and Japan have approved the use of Remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
The solidarity trial mentioned by Vergeire is led by the World Health Organization and studies the effectiveness of four different drugs for the treatment of the novel coronavirus disease which already infected over 10,000 in the Philippines.
"Eight out of 24 participating research sites are actively enrolling patients. Forty patients are currently enrolled as of this week and they have been allocated to the different treatment groups," Vergeire said.
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Aside from Remdesivir, other medications that are being studied in this trial are antimalarial drug Hydroxychloroquine, antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV Lopinavir with Ritonavir, and Lopinavir with Ritonavir plus Interferon beta-1a, according to the WHO.
The distribution of the drugs that will be administered to the local participants of the trial have already started.
"The shipment of Remdesivir has already arrived in the country and is being distributed to the study sites, while hydroxychloroquine and ritonavir/lopinavir have been distributed from donations and available supplies from the malaria and HIV programs of the DOH," Vergeire said.
She added that the Philippines will also receive 12,200 tablets of favipiravir (Avigan) as part of an international trial.
"We are coordinating with counterparts in the Japanese government regarding [the] supply of these medications," she said.
As of May 7, the Philippines recorded a total of 10,343 cases of COVID-19, with 685 deaths and 1,618 recoveries.—AOL, GMA News