THE Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday advised the public against purchasing and consuming unregistered ivermectin capsules, which are being promoted as a preventive and treatment drug for coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
In its Advisory No.2022-1520, the FDA asked the public not to buy “Ivermectin (Ivercureme) 15 mg 10 capsules.”
“FDA Post-Marketing Surveillance (PMS) activities have verified that the abovementioned drug product has not gone through the registration process of the Agency, and has not been issued with proper authorization in the form of certificate of product registration,” said the FDA.
This, it said, is because the FDA cannot guarantee the product’s quality and safety.
“Therefore, consumption of such violative product may pose potential danger or injury to health,” it said.
Similarly, the FDA warned business establishments against making the product available to consumers.
“All concerned establishments and/or entities are warned not to distribute the said violative drug product until it has been covered by the appropriate authorization,” it said.
The health regulatory body also asked local government units (LGUs) and law enforcement agencies (LEAs) to rid their respective areas of the product.
“(They) are requested to ensure that this product is not sold or made available in their localities or areas of jurisdiction,” said the FDA.
To recall, ivermectin was previously pushed by some sectors, including health professionals and lawmakers, as effective in treating COVID-19.
The Department of Health and the FDA, though, have been firm in saying that ivermectin is not being recommended for the treatment of COVID-19, citing studies abroad showing that it has been proven as ineffective in preventing severe COVID-19.
