A Uganda-made herbal COVID-19 drug called Covidex has become very popular and hardly at the same time in Uganda when it recently released the market after the authorities approved it after some previous confirmations of coronavirus that they had used it for treatment.
Addressing the press in Monday in Kampala, pharmacologist Patrick Ogwang, who led a research group in the southwestern city of Mbarara that developed the drug, said that although their production rate was still low, most of what they have produced has been put on the black market. He condemned those who hoard the drug and sell it at high prices for being selfish.
“Our factory price is 6000 shillings ($ 1.68) per bottle, but bad people sell it for 50,000 or 60,000 shillings, which is very unfortunate. We have also heard that some people sell counterfeit Covidex. I advise people to only buy it from licensed pharmacies, he said.
The Ugandan Medicines Agency approved Covidex on 29 June after undergoing all the necessary tests.
Dr David Nahamya, Executive Director of the country’s National Medicines Agency, told the Kampala press that the approval followed a two-week scientific evaluation of the drug’s safety and efficacy.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has not yet approved the drug, but Ugandan pharmacists say they have little choice because drugs approved for emergency use in developed countries are very expensive and sometimes not readily available.
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