Four drugs have emerged front-runners in the race to get the desperately needed treatment against Covid-19.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has evaluated about 133 possible drug candidates and picked the four to undergo a final round of clinical trials.
The four drugs, WHO says have been picked based on their performance against Covid-19 in animal, laboratory and clinical studies.
They include Remdesivir, a drug initially developed for the treatment of Ebola; the HIV drug, Kaletra, and a combination of Kaletra with Interferon beta-1a which is used to treat the nerve disease.
The fourth drug is Chloroquine or Hydroxychloroquine which in the past has been used to treat malaria.
The four will undergo rapid clinical trials within a study called SOLIDARITY (in which some 45 countries have already registered) with results expected next year.
After the 2014 Ebola and 2015 Zika outbreaks, the WHO in 2016 formed a global coalition of pharmaceutical experts called WHO R&D Blueprint.
The coalition advises WHO on the acceleration of drugs, vaccines and diagnostics development during emergencies.
Following the Covid-19 outbreak, the group met between February 11 and 12, 2020 and designed a global research roadmap to respond to the new threat.
Using a Covid-19 drug research database, the coalition on March 30 advised WHO to pick a few of the most promising drugs candidates for a global study; now called SOLIDARITY.
Highest number of studies
Priority was given to the drug with the highest number of studies and the largest number of positive outcomes.
Out of 133 candidates, remdesivir had the highest number of studies at nine, followed by Chloroquine and loponaivir +ritonavir. The team also roped in a variation of loponaivir +ritonavir + Interferon beta-1a.
In 2014, Kenyatta National Hospital reported successfully developing a cure for early cervical cancer from Lopinavir/Ritonavir.
A number of countries are not waiting for the WHO-sanctioned drug test results. The US, France and India have already approved emergency use of Chloroquine or Hydroxychloroquine in treating Covid-19 patients.
On Thursday, the US began its own clinical trials to treat 500 adult Covid-19 patients with Hydroxychloroquine.
Last week, Patrick Amoth, Kenya’s Acting Director General of Health, said compassionate use of the anti-malarial had been allowed on a patient at a private hospital in Nairobi.
Dr Amoth has, however, cautioned Kenyans against uncontrolled use of the drug until more evidence of its effectiveness is gathered through ongoing studies.
Amoth also said Kenya is in discussions with Japan for an antiviral drug, Favipiravir or Avigan listed seventh on the WHO drug evaluation list.
The head of the Infectious Diseases Unit at the Kenyatta National Hospital, Loice Ombajo said the unit would only consider the use of the anti-malaria drugs in severe cases of Covid-19.
Dr Ombajo said studies have shown some patients treated with Hydroxychloroquine got better a little sooner and were less likely to infect others.
The WHO says while it has not approved any anti Covid-19 treatment, using unproven drugs on patients without their consent was unethical.
“The decision to offer a patient an unproven or experimental treatment is between the doctor and the patient but must comply with national law,” states WHO.
Guidelines on clinical trials
The Kenya Pharmacy and Poisons Board's guidelines on clinical trials allows for experimental use of unproven medicines in emergency situations as long as this does not compromise the principals of appropriate care.
However, medics and institutions planning to use any of the unregistered drugs for clinical trials or compassionate treatment must apply to the board.
Last month the board banned over-the-counter sale of Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine after a noted spike in purchases following rumours that the two are effective against Covid-19.
Post a Comment