The clinical trial on the use of anti-parasitic drug ivermectin as COVID-19 treatment in the country may start by the end of May or the first week of June, an official from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said on Thursday, April 29.

In a press briefing, Jaime Montoya, chief of the DOST’s Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, said that over 1,200 COVID-19 patients with mild to moderate cases could participate in the trial.

“Tentative sample size is about 1,200, but it will increase. But more or less, it will be around that figure, which will involve [patients in] quarantine sites that are pre-identified,” Montoya said, adding that the trial could last up to six months.

The DOST is eyeing to recruit COVID-19 patients from virus epicenter Metro Manila to participate in the clinical trial. 

Marissa Alejandria of the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases said that the planned clinical trial will “contribute to the body of evidence that is available” for the use of ivermectin as COVID-19 treatment.

The clinical trial for ivermectin in the country was ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte amid ongoing public debate over the use of the drug to treat COVID-19.

The President issued the order a week after the DOST itself said there was no need for local studies as there were ongoing trials abroad. 

Medical experts here and abroad are divided over the issue, with some doctors recommending the use of the drug, while others issuing stern warning against its unproven use in treating the coronavirus disease.

In the Philippines, the only ivermectin currently allowed – and freely sold online – is for the treatment of animal intestinal parasites and ectoparasites such as fleas and mites. 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows the use of ivermectin for humans only on two instances – if the medical facility dispensing the drug secured a compassionate special permit (CSP), or if a doctor has prescribed it and the drug is compounded by a pharmacist according to the prescription.

So far, the FDA has granted CSPs to five hospitals to use ivermectin for COVID-19 treatment. A CSP allows for the limited use of investigational drugs or unregistered drugs only in medical facilities that secured permits. – Rappler.com