Japanese Pharmaceutical Firm Says Ivermectin Showed “Anti-viral effect” Against COVID

On Monday, Kowa Co Ltd (7807.T), a Japanese trade and pharmaceuticals firm, announced that the anti-parasite medication ivermectin showed an “antiviral capability” against Omicron and other coronavirus strains in a cooperative non-clinical study.

The business, which has been testing the medicine as a potential treatment for COVID-19 with Tokyo’s Kitasato University, could not disclose any other information.

Although clinical trials are still underway, the advertising of ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment has stirred controversy.

A well-known vaccine skeptic, Joe Rogan has questioned the necessity of immunizations and has admitted to using ivermectin.

The medicine is not authorized in Japan for the treatment of COVID-19, and the US Food and Drug Administration, the World Health Organization, the European Medicines Agency, and Merck (MRK.N), the drug’s maker, have all advised against using it due to a lack of scientific proof that it works. Although the FDA acknowledged growing interest in drugs that prevent or treat COVID-19 in humans in a September 2021 advisory on its website, it received many reports of patients who required medical attention, including hospitalization, after self-medication.

A UK study led by the University of Oxford is currently investigating the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19. On Monday, the researchers claimed that the study was still in progress and that they would not comment further until they had data to share.

Many possible COVID-19 medicines that showed promise in test tubes, such as the antimalarial hydroxychloroquine proposed by former US President Donald Trump, failed to benefit COVID-19 patients when evaluated in human trials.

Source: Reuters

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