The Director-General
of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC),Prof.
Mojisola Adeyeye has Ordered an immediate production of Chloroquine for
Possible Clinical Trial Treatment of Coronavirus.
The Managing
Director gave the order in a statement released on Monday stating that it was
necessary to manufacture more stock just in case more people become exposed and
infected with the virus since the drug has shown to be effective in controlling
the disease.
Adeyeye, also
advised that people should desist from its use without the guidance of a
medical doctor or clinician, stating that an abuse of the drug could lead to
gastrointestinal upset, blurred vision, headache, and pruritis (itching).
She said,” As stated
in my press briefing on March 20, 2020, NAFDAC is giving expedited provisional
approvals for the manufacture of any commodities for preventing or contracting
the disease, (sanitizers) drugs or medical device that could be used for the
clinical trial testing and treatment of COVID-19 pandemic.
”The Agency had
reduced the 120 working days for approval to 10 days due to the crisis.
”The products should
have been previously reported for clinical trial treatments in reputable
scientific journals or technical literature as safe and effective.
”Other researchers
in France, US have used the drug for clinical trial treatment of COVID-19 and
they reported effectiveness of the drug.
”Lagos State will be
starting a clinical trial on chloroquine to evaluate the effectiveness.
”Chloroquine works
by increasing endosomal pH from the acidic environment required for virus/cell
fusion, resulting in the inhibition of infection of SARS-CoV.
” It also interferes
with the glycosylation of cellular receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2.
This may inhibit the virus-receptor binding and terminate the infection.
” The antiviral and
anti-inflammatory effects of chloroquine contribute to the efficacy in treating
COVID-19 patients.
”NAFDAC advises the
public to desist from its use without the guidance of a medical doctor or
clinician for cases of clinical trial treatment of COVID-19.
” It has side
effects such as gastrointestinal upset, blurred vision, headache and pruritis
(itching).
”The itching can be
relieved by using antihistamine. Prolonged use can also cause retinopathy or
vision impairment.
”The Agency, will
ensure that the clinical trial protocol guidelines are followed.
”I wish the clinical
research teams great success in stopping the raging pandemic.
”The mandate of
NAFDAC is to safeguard the health of the country.
Meanwhile, the State
Council of China during a press briefing said that chlorine showed to be
effective and was safe to be used in the treatment of the coronavirus disease.
According to the
Chinese State Council, the test was used in ten hospitals in Wuhan, Jingzhou,
Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Ningbo and on 100 patients and it
showed that chloroquine phosphate could be effective in controlling pneumonia
associated with coronavirus disease.
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