Davao City eyes procurement of antiviral drugs vs COVID-19

FILE – Sara Duterte.

DAVAO CITY—The local government has initiated negotiations for the purchase of antiviral drugs being developed by pharmaceutical companies to fight COVID-19.

Mayor Sara Duterte on Monday said the city government “has reached out initially to the first company that announced that it has medicine (to treat COVID).”

“We are now directly communicating with the distributor in the Philippines,” Duterte said during her special hour aired over the Davao City Disaster Radio

“I am not going to provide a date (for the purchase of the drugs) to prevent premature jubilation and celebration among our people,” she said. “But I think it will arrive [earlier] than the vaccines that the city purchased.”

Duterte did not identify the company but recently the US pharmaceutical firms Merck and Pfizer announced the success of clinical trials for their antiviral medications designed to prevent severe COVID-19 infection. These companies have sought authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration for their antiviral pills.

“What they tell us is very promising. We are already talking with the distributors and their response has been very positive,” Duterte said.

“We are also reaching out to the other company that also has another antiviral medication but the other one will still take time because they haven’t been issued EUA (emergency use authorization) yet. But the [drugs by the] other company [I’m talking about] had already been approved for compassionate use,” she added.

Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer of the national vaccination program, helped the city government initiate the talks for the purchase of the antiviral drugs, Duterte said.