The Department of Health (DOH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday, April 5, denied allegations that were people in the department profiting from the use of remdesivir and tocilizumab.

In a statement, health authorities said the use of the two drugs in the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) treatment are based on World Health Organization (WHO) Solidarity Trials, and are used only for critical and severe cases.

“The Philippines is importing medicines from India and making them available to lower-income households through village pharmacies through R.A. 9502 or Cheaper Medicines Act,”  the DOH and the FDA said.

“Additionally, a Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) policy note explains that India has cheaper medicines since it is the home market effect,” they added.

Being the second most populated country in the world, health officials said India “is a large home market for medicines hence, giving it an advantage in medicine prices compared to other countries.”

“The DOH and FDA categorically deny the insinuation that there are people from the department who financially benefit from the use of remdesivir and tocilizumab,” the statement read.

They noted that Remdesivir and Tocilzumab are not yet recommended for the use of mild and asymptomatic cases.

“The WHO has yet to set the appropriate treatment of COVID-19 patients and these are used to help in discovering effective therapeutics for COVID-19,” they added.

Remdesivir has been defined as an antiviral medication that was found to speed up recovery of COVID-19 patients.

It has been in use in the country under compassionate special permit, while Tocilizumab is a registered anti-inflammatory drug, and believed to be effective in reducing the mortality of severe COVID-19 cases.