The National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Federal Government to have been implored by the Nigerian Association of Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Scientists in the Americas (NAPPSA)   to ensure scientific-based process in the quest for a therapy to the Covid-19 pandemic. This is coming on the heels of the controversies that have trailed the herbal concoction from Madagascar, which has received the nod to undergo clinical testing in Nigeria,

This call came as part of a statement on the global efforts to curtail the pandemic released by its President, Dr Anthony Ikeme, and the Secretary, Dr Aloysius Ibe.

NAPPSA said it is imperative that NAFDAC, as the regulatory agency, be involved in the development and use of any drug to treat or prevent COVID-19 in Nigeria to ensure drug safety.

NAPPSA also called on the Federal Government to support research and development efforts for COVID-19 as well as to tread cautiously before throwing its weight behind any therapeutic claim for the disease.

“We strongly recommend that drugs to treat or prevent COVID-19 be evaluated in randomised clinical trials (RCT).

Since clinical trials for therapeutics are regulated by NAFDAC, the agency should issue guidance on the development of drugs with direct antiviral activity, immunomodulatory activity or other mechanisms of action. The Federal Government should also be fully committed to supporting R&D efforts for COVID-19,” NAPPSA said.

The association said the call became necessary in view of the promotion by Nigerians and other African nations of the purported COVID-19 therapeutic drugs and treatments that are not scientifically proven.