Barely 24 hours after the World Health Organisation (WHO)
suspended all clinical trials for hydroxychloroquine as a potential
treatment for COVID-19, the National Agency for Food and Drug
Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has said the trial will
continue in Nigeria.
The Director-General of the agency, Mojisola Adeyeye, made this
known during an interview on Television Continental (TVC) on
Tuesday.
The UN agency had on Monday said it had ‘temporarily’ suspended
the clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment
for COVID-19 over safety concerns.
It said the decision followed a study in The Lancet that the use
of the drug on COVID-19 patients could increase their likelihood of
dying.
“The Executive Group has implemented a temporary pause of the
hydroxychloroquine arm within the Solidarity Trial while the data
is reviewed by the Data Safety Monitoring Board, ” WHO
Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus said.
Chloroquine is a synthetic drug introduced in the 1940s. It is a
member of an important series of chemically related agents known as
quinoline derivatives. Hydroxychloroquine is a related compound
that was introduced in 1955.
Clinical trials in Nigeria
Mrs Adeyeye, however, said there are proven records that
hydroxychloroquine has been effective in the treatment of COVID-19
patients.
This she said is most effective in those at the mild stage of
the virus.
Barely 24 hours after the World Health Organisation (WHO)
suspended all clinical trials for hydroxychloroquine as a potential
treatment for COVID-19, the National Agency for Food and Drug
Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has said the trial will
continue in Nigeria.
The Director-General of the agency, Mojisola Adeyeye, made this
known during an interview on Television Continental (TVC) on
Tuesday.
The UN agency had on Monday said it had ‘temporarily’ suspended
the clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment
for COVID-19 over safety concerns.
It said the decision followed a study in The Lancet that the use
of the drug on COVID-19 patients could increase their likelihood of
dying.
“The Executive Group has implemented a temporary pause of the
hydroxychloroquine arm within the Solidarity Trial while the data
is reviewed by the Data Safety Monitoring Board, ” WHO
Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus said.
Chloroquine is a synthetic drug introduced in the 1940s. It is a
member of an important series of chemically related agents known as
quinoline derivatives. Hydroxychloroquine is a related compound
that was introduced in 1955.
Clinical trials in Nigeria
Mrs Adeyeye, however, said there are proven records that
hydroxychloroquine has been effective in the treatment of COVID-19
patients.
This she said is most effective in those at the mild stage of
the virus.