The Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development continues its efforts to fight COVID-19 through its various research and development projects.
It gave updates on its projects – the clinical trials on the efficacy and safety of lagundi, clinical trials on the efficacy and safety of tawa-tawa,
and the suitability of saliva as an alternative clinical specimen for the detection of SARS-CoV-2.
The project on lagundi evaluates the efficacy and safety of lagundi tablets in patients without comorbidities suspected or with mild COVID-19.
The screening and enrollment of participants is ongoing at the Quezon Institute and PNP-NCRPO quarantine centers. As of Oct. 30, 75 patients were enrolled for Stage 1 of the study and 59 patients have completed the regimen.
The project on tawa-tawa assesses the efficacy and safety of tawa-tawa as an adjunctive treatment of mild to moderate COVID- 19 patients.
The project team is coordinating with the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital, Philippine General Hospital, and Quezon Institute Quarantine Center for initial patient screening and enrollment. The project has also received approval notification from the Department of Health-Single Joint Research Ethics Board last Oct. 30.
The third project aims to determine the suitability of saliva as an alternative clinical specimen for the detection of SARS-CoV-2.
With DoST-PCHRD funding support of P18 million, the five-month project will be implemented by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine with Alexander Sadiasa, MSc, as project leader.
The project has obtained ethics clearance from RITM Institutional Review Board. It is currently in discussion with DoH-COVID Laboratory Experts Panel regarding possible duplication with UP Manila's saliva study under the Philippine Red Cross.