THE Health Ministry (MOH) reiterated to pharmacists that the Government only allows the use of Ivermectin to treat COVID-19 for clinic trials only, not across the board.
“Referring to MOH’s media statement on May 16, I stress that the ministry has no objection to the use of Ivermectin but for clinical trials only.
“It is the responsibility of all licensed pharmacists to ensure all imports and sales of raw Ivermectin for manufacturing and compounding purposes to treat COVID-19, with imports and sales of products containing the drug is limited to clinical trials,” said its National Pharmacy Regulatory Division director Dr Roshayati Mohamad Sani, in a letter yesterday addressed to all pharmacy groups in Malaysia.
Lately, many quarters have touted the supposed potency of Ivermectin in curing those who suffer serious symptoms following COVID-19 infections.
Among the proponents of the drug is Persatuan Patriot Kebangsaan’s (Patriot) Director of Public Communications Capt (Rtd) Dr Wong Ang Peng.
Wong claimed that several medical journals have indicated that the drug, among others, significantly diminishes viral load and protects against organ damage in multiple animal models, when infected with COVID-19 or other coronaviruses.
Urging caution, Roshayati reminded pharmacists that the advertising of drugs such as Ivermectin was disallowed under the Medicines Advertisement Board (LIU) policy and legal action can be taken against those who breach the law.
“Therefore, I urge all pharmacists to cease selling any drugs containing Ivermectin for COVID-19 treatment purposes, except for clinical trials.
“Any advertisement related to the product must stop immediately and not repeated in any form of media,” she stressed.
Wait for MOH’s results
Roshayati remarked: “The ministry will continue to monitor the matter closely and will not hesitate to take action if anyone is found to have breached our health regulation under Poisons Act 1952, Drugs and Cosmetics Control regulations 1984, Medicines (Advertising and Sale) Act 1956 and other laws related to it.”
On related matter, Malaysian Pharmacists Society (MPS) welcomed Roshayati’s timely reminder and urged all community pharmacists to take heed.
“I urge the public not to pressure pharmacists and doctors to administer this drug. Please understand that medical professionals adhere strictly to the guidelines set by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA), the regulatory body for patient safety.
“In any case, let’s wait for the MOH to finish its clinical trials, scheduled to end of this month. The ministry will announce the results next month,” its president Amrahi Buang told FocusM. – Aug 5, 2021.
