DOH: Avigan trials on COVID-19 patients may begin by September
MANILA, Philippines — The clinical trials for anti-flu medication Avigan as a possible cure for the coronavirus disease have yet to start in the country, the Department of Health said.
The study on the efficacy of the Japanese drug on treating the severe respiratory disease was supposed to begin on August 17 but was moved to September at the earliest.
In a media briefing Monday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the budget for the nine-month clinical trials has yet to be approved. She said the University of the Philippines Manila and the government are still discussing the budget for the trials.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier said the department had allotted P18 million for the study of the drug on coronavirus patients.
The Japanese government sent Avigan tablets, which will be tested on 100 patients in the country. The Philippine General Hospital, Santa Ana Hospital, Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Quirino Memorial Center were chosen as sites for the clinical trials.
But Vergeire said only the ethics committee of PGH had approved the conduct of the trial.
“‘Yung tatlong ospital inaayos pa hanggang sa ngayon ‘yung kanilang ethics committee approval and we all know para ikaw ay makapag-start ng clinical trials, kailangan mo ng approval ng Food and Drug Administration at saka ng ethics committee,” the health official explained.
(The three hospitals are still processing their ethics committee approval. We all know that for one to start clinical trials, the approvals of Food and Drug Administration and ethics committee are needed.)
“By September 1, hopefully everything is finished and we can already start the trials,” she added.
The study of Avigan in the country will be randomized and comparative. Patients participating in the clinical trials will be split into two sets: one will be given the existing supportive care for COVID-19, while the other will be given the same supportive care and Avigan tablets.
The Philippines is also part of the World Health Organization’s solidarity trial, which tests drugs remdesivir and interferon. Vergeire said there are 932 patients enrolled in the UN health agency’s study nationwide.
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