THE Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday sought to allay confusion surrounding its recent approval of a Chinese traditional medicine, saying it is not registered in the country as a drug against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
FDA Director General Eric Domingo said the “Lianhua Qingwen” is being used in China for COVID-19 patients but in the Philippines, “we approved it specifically for the indications stated in the CPR (certificate of product registration),” he said.
In the CPR, the FDA said, the Chinese drug claims to help “remove heat-toxin invasion of the lungs, including symptoms such as fever, aversion to cold, muscle soreness, stuffy and runny nose.”
The confusion stemmed from a statement issued by the Chinese Embassy on Wednesday, which welcomed the drug’s approval by the FDA.
“Lianhua Qingwen Capsule is an approved COVID-19 treatment for mild and moderate cases in China,” the statement said. “So far, Lianhua Qingwen capsule has been approved in Hong Kong and Macao SAR of China, Brazil, Indonesia, Canada, Mozambique, Romania, Thailand, Ecuador, Singapore and Laos PDR.”
“It is our sincere hope that its entrance into the Philippine market will contribute to the fight against the spread of COVID-19 in this country and help the patients with mild and moderate symptoms recover,” it also said.
Domingo said the FDA approval for Lianhua Qingwen is “as a traditional medicine and as a prescription drug.”
This, he said, means that manufacturers cannot claim the Lianhua Qingwen is a cure for COVID-19.
“(Manufacturers) cannot put in the packaging that this is an anti-COVID product. There’s no medicine yet for us labeled as an anti-COVID product,” he said.
Asked if the Lianhua Qingwen will soon be included in the country’s protocol in treating mild COVID-19 patients, Domingo said that is not likely in the immediate future.
“To have it included in the DOH protocol will take a lot of health processes. It has to
undergo health assessment, it has to be double-checked as a medicine,” said Domingo.
