The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of Ivermectin for humans as an "anti-nematode."
Local pharmaceutical company Lloyd Laboratories Inc. applied for a certificate of product registration (CSP) for Ivermectin, said FDA Director-General Rolando Enrique Domingo.
“Lloyd Laboratories applied for a CPR for locally manufactured Ivermectin as an anti-nematode drug and it was granted after they submitted data to support quality and stability of the product,” said Domingo in a text message to reporters.
To note, nematodes are parasitic roundworms.
The FDA had explained that a CPR is an authorization that allows a product to be sold commercially.
When asked if a doctor's prescription is needed before one could buy this medicine, Domingo answered in the affirmative.
The Ivermectin drug became controversial recently after some lawmakers claimed that this could help prevent or treat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Both the FDA and the Department of Health (DOH) have repeatedly reiterated their stand that they “do not recommend the use of anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19 due to insufficient scientific evidence.”
“We have said this many times before and we will say it again. We do not recommend the use of Ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 as the benefits of this antiparasitic drug for this purpose has not been established,” Domingo said in a statement on April 30.