THREE lawmakers and three doctors have asked the Supreme Court to order the government to allow the use of the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin to treat the coronavirus.
In a petition, Party-list Reps. Rodante D. Marcoleta and Michael T. Defensor and Senator Francis N. Tolentino asked the tribunal to compel the Health department and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue a certification of product registration for the drug.
Companies that manufacture, import and distribute ivermectin should also be issued a license to operate, they said, arguing that the disinformation campaign against ivermectin stemmed from “corporate greed.”
“The story of ivermectin shows that we, as the public, have misplaced our trust in the authorities and have underestimated the extent to which money and power corrupt,” they added.
Ivermectin has not been proven to be effective against the coronavirus, according to the US FDA. Clinical trials assessing ivermectin tablets for the prevention or treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in people are ongoing.
The World Health Organization advises that ivermectin be used only to treat COVID-19 within clinical trials. — BADA