The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has said it would continue the trial of Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 treatment despite the announcement of a temporary pause by the World Health Organisation.
WHO had on Monday cited safety concerns for the temporary pause of the trial of Hydrochloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
Speaking on the continuation of the trial in Nigeria, Director-General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, who spoke during an interview on Television Continental on Tuesday, said the drug had proven to be effective for mild case COVID-19 patients.
She said, “There is data to prove that Hydroxychloroquine worked for many COVID-19 patients.
“Therefore, we would continue our own clinical trials in Nigeria. Hydroxychloroquine has been proved to work at a mild stage. So the potency depends on the severity of the disease in the patient’s body.”
She added that the trial should be concluded in three to four months if medical doctors, research scientists, pharmacists, herbal experts work together.
Meanwhile, NAFDAC is set to receive the COVID-19 herbal cure from Madagascar for testing.
According to the Health Minister, Osagie Ehanire, the drug would be handed over to the Ministry of Health, who will send it to NAFDAC for validation and usage.
“We will pick it up and send to our research institutes, first to NAFDAC and then to Nigerian Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development,” Ehanire said.
