Following a surge in Covid-19 cases and the urgent need for medicinal remedies that remain scarce in the Pearl of Africa, Uganda’s National Drug Authority (NDA) recently approved Covidex as a supportive treatment for viral infections including COVID-19 but not as a cure.
In a statement, NDA stated that after a record time of 14 days of engagements with the innovators and assessments of the product information, Covidex, has been notified to be sold in licensed drug outlets for supportive treatment in managing viral infections but not as a cure of COVID-19.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern about Uganda’s approval of the locally made COVID-19 herbal treatment siting a number of irregularities and un marching ethical procedures and evidence.
The WHO consulted researchers from nine African countries, including Uganda, in March about the use of traditional medicine to treat COVID-19.
Dr. Solome Okware of the WHO’s Uganda office said Covidex wasn’t among the traditional medicines that were evaluated.
“WHO has not received any information about this product,” Okware said.
Ugandan pharmacists however say they have little choice because drugs authorized for emergency use in developed countries are not readily available in Uganda.
On Tuesday this week, the Uganda drug authority said that it had approved the herbal medicine, Covidex, to be supplied and used across the country.
Dr. David Nahamya, executive director of Uganda’s drug authority, said the approval followed a two-week scientific evaluation of the medicine’s safety and efficacy.
“Covidex has been notified to be sold in licensed drug outlets for supportive treatment in management of viral infections but not as a cure of COVID-19,” Nahamya said.
Nahamya reassured Ugandans that the manufacturer, Jena Herbals Uganda, had increased production and that the herb would be available for all who needed it, under medical supervision.
He added that the approval was based on initial assessments, published literature and safety studies conducted by the innovator.
“The product has been formulated from herbal plants that have been traditionally used to alleviate symptoms of several diseases,” Nahamya said. “To further the efficacy of the drug for other uses, NDA [Uganda’s National Drug Authority] has advised the manufacturer to conduct random controlled clinical trials, which are the highest level of evidence to ascertain any claims of treatment.”
Okware said that in collaboration with the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the WHO developed master and generic protocols to provide guidance to members for developing clinical trials to assess claims of effective treatment for COVID-19.
“Many plants and substances are being proposed without the minimum requirements and evidence of quality, safety and efficacy,” Okware said. “The use of products to treat COVID-19 which have not yet been robustly investigated can be harmful if the due process is not followed.”
Covidex has been formulated from herbal plants that have been traditionally used to alleviate symptoms of several diseases.
Uganda recently received 175,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine but is inoculating only frontline workers. With just 856,025 people vaccinated in the country, many members of the public have resorted to using Covidex to treat COVID-19 symptoms.
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