Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye on Tuesday stated that pieces of evidence from reliable researches and reports showed that Chloroquine can kill COVID-19 virus at the early stage.
She stated that Remdesivir, made by Gilead Sciences Inc, has also been shown to kill the virus at late stages.
The NAFDAC boss, however, noted that the cost for treating people with chloroquine was way cheaper than with Remdesivir. Remdesivir cost $2,500 to treat an average patient and Chloroquine is $10.
She also noted that countries in West Africa like Ghana, Togo, and Senegal have also embraced the clinical use of Chloroquine for treatment.
Prof. Adeyeye spoke on Tuesday during a virtual news conference in Abuja.
She said: “In March 20, this year, just before the lockdown, I had a press briefing. At that time, people did not understand what clinical trial treatment meant. Once they hear treatment, they think you can use it anyhow. But clinical trial treatment is a research study to see whether the drug will work or not.