Nobody Has Presented COVID-19 Herbal Drugs for Analysis, Says NAFDAC
By Onyinye Apeh
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Wednesday said that nobody or firm in the country has presented any herbal or pharmaceutical drugs that could cure the coronavirus for analysis.
In a statement, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said though the agency has read about claims of drugs to cure COVID-19 in the media, nobody has approached it for testing of such claims.
“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.”
: “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.
“It should be mentioned also, however, that many plants are similarly very poisonous. As the agency that has been saddled with the mandate of safeguarding the health of the citizenry, NAFDAC will continue to make sure that only medicinal product, including herbal remedies that have proven safety data will be approved for use by the public.”
She explained that NAFDAC can only list herbal medicines for any treatment based on historical perspective after carrying out the toxicological and microbiological evaluations to ensure safety, adding that the listing status is usually for two years.
She however said this does not validate the efficacy claims adding that the labels must bear a disclaimer informing the consumer that the claims have not been evaluated by NAFDAC.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Wednesday said that nobody or firm in the country has presented any herbal or pharmaceutical drugs that could cure the coronavirus for analysis.
In a statement, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said though the agency has read about claims of drugs to cure COVID-19 in the media, nobody has approached it for testing of such claims.
“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.”
: “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.
“It should be mentioned also, however, that many plants are similarly very poisonous. As the agency that has been saddled with the mandate of safeguarding the health of the citizenry, NAFDAC will continue to make sure that only medicinal product, including herbal remedies that have proven safety data will be approved for use by the public.”
She explained that NAFDAC can only list herbal medicines for any treatment based on historical perspective after carrying out the toxicological and microbiological evaluations to ensure safety, adding that the listing status is usually for two years.
She however said this does not validate the efficacy claims adding that the labels must bear a disclaimer informing the consumer that the claims have not been evaluated by NAFDAC.
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