More hospitals have been granted with compassionate special permit (CSP) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the use of anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin in the treatment of their patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

FDA Director General Eric Domingo told the Manila Bulletin in a text message Tuesday, April 27, that two more hospitals have been granted CSP for the use of Ivermectin.

The country’s food and drug regulatory body has earlier granted CSPs to three hospitals for the use of the controversial drug in the treatment of their patients with COVID-19.

As of date, there are now five hospitals with CSP for the use of Ivermectin on their patients.

In an advisory, the FDA stressed that the only registered Ivermectin products in the country for human use are in topical formulation for the treatment of external parasites such as head lice and skin conditions such as rosacea.

It added that the registered oral and intravenous preparations of Ivermectin are veterinary products, which are approved for use in animals for the prevention of heartworm disease and treatment of internal and external parasites in certain animal species.

“Any use of Ivermectin veterinary products for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 should be avoided as the benefits and safety for this purpose has not been established,” the FDA said.

“Ivermectin is not approved by the FDA for treatment of any viral infection,” it added.

The Department of Health (DOH) pointed out that Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, country representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), had said that there is no evidence that supports the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19, even as a preventive measure.

The Health department has been warning the public against the use of the anti-parasitic drug in COVID-19 treatment as there is still not enough evidence showing that it is effective in combating the effects of the disease.

In a recent televised interview, Domingo explained that a CSP can be granted for medicines that are not registered and not commercially available in the country, even for COVID-19 investigational drugs.

“If a hospital request for a compassionate special permit for patients, they can do that,” he said in an interview over ANC.

“As long as the hospital take responsibility for the medicine and of course the patient should be fully informed, and they report to the FDA what happens to the patients,” he added.

Domingo warned that taking the drug in high doses can cause side effects such as kidney and pulmonary problems, as well as brain damage.

President Duterte has recently ordered the conduct of clinical trials in the country on the use of anti-parasitic drug as a potential treatment against COVID-19.