The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has made it known that the agency has not gotten any drug, be it herbal or pharmaceutical, for testing or analysis to ascertain its suitability for Covid-19 treatment, despite urgent need for a cure.
The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, said that, some drugs that have met preliminary requirements had been submitted to NAFDAC for scrutiny.
NAFDAC Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye has denied to the claims, adding that claims for a cure are only made on social media or in the news.
She said, “NAFDAC as at the time of this press release has only received an application from one company for a product, the company is presenting for approval to the agency for the treatment of the symptoms of COVID-19, and not for the cure of COVID-19 as a disease.
“A claim of a cure must be subjected to clinical evaluation through well-controlled, randomised clinical trials following an approved clinical trial protocol.”
She added: “In a bid to discover a cure, therefore, the public has witnessed quite a number of claims from different quotas – complementary and alternative medicines practitioners, traditional healers and academia.
“It is pertinent to note, however, that these claims are domiciled in either the conventional news media or social media.
“That Africa as a continent is blessed with diverse plants and herbs that constitute a source of food and medicine is incontrovertible. The drugs of today’s modern society are products of research and development by major pharmaceutical companies. Among the most important raw materials researched and developed are naturally occurring materials obtained especially from plants.”
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