Japanese firm says ivermectin shows ‘antiviral effect’ against Covid-19
The controversial drug ivermectin shows an “antiviral effect” against Covid-19, a Japanese drug company said on Monday.
Trading and pharmaceutical company Kowa Co Ltd, which has been working with Tokyo’s Kitasato University testing the drug as potential treatment for Covid-19, did not provide further details,Reuters reported.
Ivermectin hasbeen popularisedas a Covid-19 treatment by some doctors and the likes of podcast host Joe Rogan, even as health authorities and the drug’s manufacturer Merck warn against its use, citing lack of evidence that it works against the virus.
A clinical trial being run in the UKby Oxford University, announced in June 2021, is ongoing.
The Oxford researchers told Reuters on Monday that they did not want to comment until they have results to report.
Ivermectin first began to be touted as a therapeutic for Covid-19 in early 2020 afterscientists in Melbournefound it could inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in the lab in high doses.
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It was enthusiastically adopted by some clinicians and healthcare systems before any significant human trials were conducted, and subsequent trials have been largely small and conflicted,” Associate Professor Justin Denholm, principal investigator on the Australasian Covid-19 Trial (ASCOT), wrotein August 2021.
“Now, a number of retrospective reviews and meta-analyses have been released, which mostly agree that studies to date have generally been of low quality and high risk of bias, but offering different conclusions about whether ivermectin improves outcomes.”
In September, Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) banned doctors from prescribingivermectin off-label.
