DOH eyes Avigan trial by middle of July

June 24, 2020

The clinical trial of anti-flu drug, Avigan, as treatment for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the Philippines could be held starting mid-July, the Department of Health (DOH) said.

"Hopefully, come July, around second or third week, we can already start with the Avigan trial," said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire in a virtual press briefing on Tuesday.

The DOH had tagged Sta. Ana Hospital, Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital, and Quirino Memorial Medical Center as venues for the Avigan trial.

The DOH also said at least 100 volunteer COVID-19 patients are being eyed for the trial.

Vergeire said they are just are just waiting for the required clearance before starting the program.

"We are just waiting for the ethics committee clearance for this Avigan trial protocol and we would go to the regulatory clearance of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration)," said Vergeire.

Japan started using the anti-influenza drug Avigan to treat COVID-19 patients but last month the Japanese government gave up on its goal for approval of the drug by May after an interim analysis showed no clear efficacy in treating the disease.

On the Solidarity Trial of the World Health Organization (WHO), Vergeire said they  have a total of 330 participating patients in the international effort to find cure for COVID-19.

She said the 330 patients enrolled in the program comes from the 21 participating hospitals.

A total of 500 slots have been allocated by WHO for participating COVID-19 patients from the Philippines.

Vergeire added that the country has again stopped the use of hydroxychloroquine in the ongoing WHO trials.

"We stopped using hydroxychloroquine. We are only using three drugs (for the program)," said Vergeire, referring to Remdesivir; Lopinavir with Ritonavir; and Lopinavir with Ritonavir plus Interferon beta-1a. DMS