Medicines regulator warns against the use of Ivermectin to manage COVID-19
The Medicines Regulatory Council (NMRC) has maintained that available data does not support the use of Ivermectin for COVID-19 outside well-designed clinical trials.
The council has continued to review emerging scientific data to assess its use in COVID-19 management, while consulting independent experts in the relevant fields, both locally and internationally, NMRC registrar, Johannes Gaeseb said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Available studies have limitations in that they were insufficiently powered, used differing dosing regimens, and included various concomitant medications which are confounders to the efficacy of
Ivermectin. As such no clear conclusion can be drawn on the clinical efficacy and safety of Ivermectin in the treatment of COVlD-19 infection,” he added.
Gaeseb said while the safety profile of Ivermectin is considered good, it is important to note that this is relative to the dose and conditions in the population in which it was studied.
“The council continues to warn against the use of the veterinary formulation in humans as well as the illegal import and compounding of Ivermectin and Ivermectin-containing products for human use,” he said.
Although it may be premature to absolutely conclude that Ivermectin has no place in COVID-19 treatment, on the basis of current evidence, its use is not recommended at this point, he concluded.
