The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & URN | COVIDEX, a local herbal medicine, has finally been approved by Uganda’s National Drug Authority (NDA) as a supporting treatment for viral infections including Covid-19.
The development comes a week after attempts were made to halt the distribution of the medicine that Ugandans were rushing for after several positive testimonies about its potency.
Prof. Patrick Engeu Ogwang, a lecturer at Mbarara University of Science and Technology and also the founder of the drug, was forced to issue a statement saying no clinical studies have been carried out on the drug to determine its efficacy.
According to Prof. Ogwang, the drug has only undergone laboratory tests on animals to determine active compounds and safety.
“Only a few people have used it so far to relive their symptoms of COVID-19. More proof is needed to show it works against COVID-19. Clinic trials that prove as medicine or effective has not yet been done due to funding limitations,” said the statement signed by Prof. Ogwang.
The National Drug Authority has approved the use of COVIDEX as a supportive treatment in the management of viral infections.
Mid this month, the NDA banned the use of the drug saying the developer, Professor Patrick Ogwang had not subjected it to the required approvals. For a locally manufactured drug to be approved by the NDA, it has to go through clinical trials among other requirements.
The approval comes days after the drug authority cautioned the public against using the drug since it had not yet undergone necessary testing.
Dr David Nahamya, the Secretary NDA now says that the herbal drug is safe following an assessment of the drug and inspections of the production facilities.
He however emphasized that the drug as of now should not be sold as a treatment for COVID-19 since more clinical trials are needed to substantiate claims that it can treat the disease.
“NDA has granted COVIDEX an approval based on initial assessment, published literature and safety studies conducted by the innovator. The product has been formulated from herbal plants that have been traditionally used to alleviate symptoms of severe diseases. To further support the efficacy of the drug for other uses, the manufacturer is advised to conduct random controlled clinical trials to ascertain any claims of treatment,” Dr Nahamya said.
Prof Ogwang says his drug works and he is willing to follow all NDA recommendations.
According to Prof Ogwang, his product has been used by over 40 people both in the first and second waves.
The approval of the drug will most likely lead to an increase in the price. While Ogwang manufactured the drug so that it is easily accessible at 3,000 Shillings at retail, the drug on the open market costs 50,000 Shillings.
If the drug undergoes randomised clinical trials and is tested on over 120 people, it could be a big breakthrough for the country as far management of COVID-19 is concerned, especially during this second wave where the country have registered over 37,000 infections and 400 deaths.
On Saturday, Pamela Achii, the President of the Uganda Pharmaceutical Society and Dr Grace Nambatya, the Director of Research at the Natural Chemotherapeutics Research Laboratory said that while the herbal-based treatment has not been approved by the NDA, it has some ingredients to treat COVID-related infections and should not be wholly dismissed.
Achii said that the remedy has the berberine plant as an active ingredient and its effectiveness has been proven in COVID-19 studies done elsewhere. Berberine has also been used in treatments for diabetes and liver disease. She also said that as a society, she adds that they are supporting clinical trials of the drug to quickly start.
Over the past month, demand for the product rose. Many people were looking for it at pharmacies located in Wandegaya, Kampala. The drug was being sold at several pharmacies at Shs 10,000 for each 20 mls bottle. According to pharmacists selling the drug, a person needed seven bottles of the drug to be cured from COVID-19. The drug was also sold as a preventive treatment for the disease.
According to Mbarara University, COVIDEX is one of several products including a hand sanitizer that have been developed as part of the university’s Pharm-Biotechnology Traditional Medicine Center (PHARMBIOTRAC).
The drug is not the first that has been developed to tackle COVID-19. The Natural Chemotherapeutics Research Institute is in the process of developing a COVID-19 cure, UBV-01N. So far the drug has been used by 53 people and studies are ongoing.
What is wrong with clinical trials, don’t we have patients in hospitals?
Let them try out on those ones since laboratory tests have been approved
NO Don’t agree …
Patients are in hosp
to recover from what
ailment their suffering from
aqui en peru estamos usando con exito la invermectina que es un antiparasitario para el ganado, la usan tambien varios paises de sudamerica y australia asi como algunas zonas de asia, no veo que ustedes que cuentan con ganado en abundancia la utilicen
Why try on patients as their in hosp to
Get better from their life threatening
Illness ….
Infact I have liked that professor as a country it shows that we are really really progressing and my prayer is this drug to be proven as it cures any type of covid 19
It’s a good step forward in the right direction from the government approving the drug as a supporting treatment though, they’ve taken longer yet the pandemic remains aggressively spreading pervasively throughout the country.
We would appreciate if the government (NATIONAL DRUG AUTHORITY) expediates the clinical trials to quickly determine if this drug can be sold as a treatment drug as well. This should be top priority together with the rest of promising local research because this disease will cripple our country for decades if we’re reluctantly not responding.
Congratulations to the professor at mbarara university for that remarkable effort. I in the same manner advise the government to put political agendas out of this issue entirely and start saving lives by encouraging research on this disease through funding it..
Please, please, let health come first!!!!!!
Now the emotional element has been settled
Let those concerned “keep in their lanes”
There is a product to be used without bias, while respecting autonomy, beneficence and privacy and in line with well established protocols
already interested in how the “gut intake delivers enough to desirable site”, so NDA please ensure the communication element keeps active
We hope for the best
aqui en peru estamos usando con exito la invermectina que es un antiparasitario para el ganado, la usan tambien varios paises de sudamerica y australia asi como algunas zonas de asia, no veo que ustedes que cuentan con ganado en abundancia la utilicen.
Eventually as a Ugandan I’ve gained hope that the bazungu lost the market in our beloved country
May God be there for us and COVIDEX becomes the entire cure of covid 19
let see how this drugs will our people of uganda.
We are proud as Uganda…….let the whites/Bazungu keep to their lanes…….and professor Ogwanga should be careful because these gans might find a way of doing away with his Life.
We thank God! let us have statistical data on the percentage of those who have recovered from covid-19 after using covidex drug. Let buy Uganda! we can still addArtemisia since we have seedlings. it matures within 3-months.