#COVID19: NAFDAC Approves Production of Chloroquine For Clinical Trial

The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, in a statement issued this morning has said that old antimalaria drug, Chloroquine will be produced for emergency stock for the clinical trial treatment of Coronavirus.

Making reference to some countries that have started using Chloroquine for the treatment of coronavirus, she said the drug was discovered to be effective in the treatment of ‘COVID-19 associated pneumonia’. 

The state read in part:

“Other researchers in France, US have used the drug for the clinical trial treatment of COVID-19 and they reported effectiveness of the drug. Lagos State will be starting a clinical trial on chloroquine to evaluate the effectiveness.

“In a very recent publication, chloroquine was reported in a press briefing by the State Council of China, indicating that chloroquine phosphate had demonstrated marked efficacy and acceptable safety in treating COVID-19 associated pneumonia in a multi-center clinical trials conducted in China.

“The study involved 10 hospitals in Wuhan, Jingzhou, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Ningbo, and 100 patients. The investigators reported that Chloroquine phosphate is superior to the control in inhibiting the pneumonia associated with COVID-19, and shortening the course of the disease.”

Prof. Adeyeye said she had approached a local Pharmaceutical manufacturing company (May and Baker) which had NAFDAC approval for the production of chloroquine as antimalarial many years ago, to make a batch of the drug for emergency stock.

She said the Managing Director of May and Baker had confirmed that the batch of chloroquine drugs has been manufactured and the company plans to make more batches, on request.

She appealed to Nigerians to desist from using Chloroquine drugs without the guidance of a medical doctor or clinician for treatment of coronavirus and warned of possible side effects which includes blurred vision, itching, headaches and gastrointestinal upset, amongst others.