ANSA McAl Trading Limited yesterday donated 100 vials of remdesivir to the Ministry of Health as the minister had reported that the drug has been effective in the treatment of COVID-19 patients in Guyana.
The handing over ceremony was held at the Ministry of Health’s offices on Brickdam where the company’s Managing Director, Troy Cadogan, said that the donation of the drug will assist the government in the fight against COVID-19.
According to Cadogan, a few of the company’s suppliers reached out and informed them of the drug which seems to have been aiding in the fight against COVID-19 across the world.
The Managing Director said he then spoke with the minister and learned that the drug is part of the country’s treatment protocols for the coronavirus.
“So I signalled to the suppliers to send it in. So this was a collaborative effort between the minister and myself in terms of bringing this donation,” he explained.
Cadogan went on to say that the donation of 100 vials of the drug was the first batch and the second batch should be in the country soon.
He added, “So basically the donation is 200 vials – a substantial donation towards the government of Guyana and the people of Guyana from ANSA McAl.”
Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony said that the health authorities have been using remdesivir as part of its treatment protocol for quite a while and it is especially beneficial to those patients who are in the Intensive Care Unit.
“While, I know you’ve said it’s very expensive, the challenge that we’ve had is that sometimes for one patient we have to use ten [vials] of these for the course of treatment. So it is timely and I’m sure that it’s going to help out some of our patients” he iterated.
When asked how effective the drug has been in the treatment of COVID-19 patients, he said that there has been a scientific study that was published which showed that remdesivir can be used to reduce the duration of sickness with the disease. He indicated, “So if somebody would be sick for 14 days we could probably reduce that by four or five days.” However he added that there was a more recent study which was conducted by the World Health Organization which shows that the drug does not make much of a difference in patients. He added that the original study however says that there was a subset of patients in whom differences were seen.
“So I guess when we are using it, our clinicians would have to ensure that those persons who can benefit from it would be that subset that was seen in the earlier studies.
It remains one of the standards of care in the UN Guidelines, in the North American guidelines and in the European guidelines so we continue to use it, our clinicians continue to use it,” he added.
According to information provided to this newspaper, a total of 40 patients have so far been treated with remdesivir in Guyana. The criteria for the drug to be administered states that the patents must be moderately ill and have an oxygen saturation under 94 along with good liver and kidney functions. It was revealed to Stabroek News that patients in isolation at the country’s COVID-19 ICU who do not have a history of liver and kidney issues are being treated with the drug. It was noted that the drug helps to stabilise those patients by reducing the viral load and more so helps with the clinical management.
Anthony said during the handing over that it is important for various agencies to come together in the fight against COVID-19. “We need more people to add their voice in terms of the preventative measures and I’m sure that your company has complied with all the regulations and guidelines that we have put out,” he said.
