REMDESIVIR- a drug that gained authorization from Japan and the US for the treatment of COVID-19, is part of the ongoing clinical trial in the Philippines, said the Department of Health.

“Remdesivir is one of the investigational drugs included in the WHO Solidarity Trial, which the Philippines is participating in,” said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire in a statement that was released on Thursday night.

This medicine has been developed initially for the possible treatment of ebola and there had been some early evidence that this may reduce the duration of COVID-19 illness, she added.

Both the US and Japan have been approved the use of the Remdesivir for the treatment of the COVID-19 patients.

As of the solidarity trial mentioned by Vergeire, was led by the World Health Organization and studies the effectiveness of four different drugs for the treatment of the novel coronavirus disease which already infected over 10,000 in the Philippines.

“Eight out of 24 participating research sites are actively enrolling patients. Forty patients are currently enrolled as of this week and they have been allocated to the different treatment groups,” Vergeire said.

According to the DOH, 500 COVID-19 patients in the country will be part of this international solidarity trial. 

However, WHO said aside from Remdesivir, there are other medications that are being studied in this trial such as, antimalarial drug Hydroxychloroquine, antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV Lopinavir with Ritonavir, and Lopinavir with Ritonavir plus Interferon beta-1a.

The distribution of the drugs that will be administered to the local participants of the trial have already started.

“The shipment of Remdesivir has already arrived in the country and is being distributed to the study sites, while hydroxychloroquine and ritonavir/lopinavir have been distributed from donations and available supplies from the malaria and HIV programs of the DOH,” Vergeire said.

She added that the Philippines will also receive 12,200 tablets of favipiravir or Avigan as part of an international trial.

“We are coordinating with counterparts in the Japanese government regarding [the] supply of these medications,” Vergerie said.

As of May 7, the Philippines recorded a total of 10,343 cases of COVID-19, with 685 deaths and 1,618 recoveries.

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