Cape Town – South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has announced it will allow a controlled compassionate use of Ivermectin to treat Covid-19.
The health product regulator says it will unveil the access protocols for the drug in the coming days.
The announcement was made during a press announcement in collaboration with the National Press Club on Wednesday.
“We at Sahpra have considered all of this, and the approach that we will be taking going forward is that we will facilitate a controlled, compassionate, access programme for Ivermectin.
“This does not mean that our position changes around the lack of availability of scientific data, but we had to as a regulator have very in-depth discussions around the context which we find ourselves in with the pandemic with limited options,” said Sahpra chief executive Dr Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela
“We hope the controlled access will enable us that the product is used properly and limit the black market,” she said
“It’s important to note that Sahpra has listened and heard what people have been saying about Ivermectin.The programme will be open to all patients. We will review every application as it comes through,” said Semete-Makokotlela
She said healthcare professionals would be central to the application for use in their patients but will unveil the process in more detail in the coming days.
During a hearing before the US senate homeland security and governmental affairs committee last week, Dr Pierre Kory, a pulmonary and critical care specialist at Aurora St Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee, described Ivermectin as a “wonder drug” with immensely powerful antiviral and anti-inflammatory agents.
Kory said: “Ivermectin is highly safe, widely available, and low cost. Its discovery was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine, and is already included on the WHO’s World’s List of Essential Medicines. Ivermectin is effectively a miracle drug against Covid-19.”
WATCH SAHPRA’S FULL MEDIA BRIEFING: