The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, says NAFDAC will continue its clinical trial of chloroquine for COVID-19 treatment.
Speaking yesterday on a TVC programme, Adeyeye said Nigeria believed in hydroxychloroquine and that there was data to prove that it was effective in treating COVID-19 patients, particularly at the mild stage of the disease.
She had in March announced that NAFDAC approved the production of chloroquine for clinical trials on COVID19.
The Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Ghebreyesus, had at a press conference in Geneva on Monday announced that the WHO “temporarily” suspended clinical trials of hydroxychloriquine as a potential treatment for COVID-19.
He had explained that the WHO was concerned after a study from the Lancet published last Friday revealed high death rates among COVID-19 patients who took hydroxychloriquine.
But the NAFDAC DG said yesterday that: “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.
“If medical doctors, research scientists, pharmacists, herbal experts work together, we should conclude the clinical trial in three to four months. The narrative might change afterwards but for now, we believe in hydroxychloroquine.”
