As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to grow all over the world, the cure for the coronavirus infection is still not found.
Therefore, during the daily Covid-19 update hosted by the Health Director-General, Datuk Dr Noor Hisham, he announced that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had appointed Malaysia as one of the first countries to try out a drug that is possibly a cure for Covid-19.
“We were chosen to be one of the research centres to carry out the test on the latest drug to treat Covid-19. This particular drug called ‘Remdesivir’ will be used on the Covid-19 patients. The research will be carried out at Sungai Buloh Hospital and other hospitals that were appointed to handle Covid-19 patients.”
A reporter asked if Malaysia was the only country that was selected, Dr Noor Hisham explained that many countries were involved. However, the reason why Malaysia was chosen was because of Malaysia’s ability and capability to carry out the research. He added that Malaysia was chosen probably because our country has a good healthcare research system and the researchers in Malaysia are well-trained. Malaysia also uses a systematic platform for clinical research, which is probably why we are allowed to run the same test.
Dr Noor Hisham stated that the point of this research is to test the effectiveness of Remdesivir, and its side effects will be monitored as well, according to the New Straits Times.
“The drug has been identified by WHO. Whether the drug is scientifically effective or not, we should first conduct the research.”
As stated on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, Remdesivir is “an investigational intravenous drug with broad antiviral activity that inhibits viral replication through premature termination of RNA transcription and has in-vitro activity against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) and in-vitro and in-vivo activity against related betacoronaviruses”. Apparently, this particular drug has not been licensed or approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States.
We’re absolutely proud to hear that Malaysia is being chosen and we hope that the tests on this drug can be carried out successfully!
Also read: Dogs Could Be Used To Detect Covid-19 in Humans With Just Six Weeks Of Proper Training
