“Its a drug in use”, he says

A Nigerian professor of Pharmacognosy from the University of Nigeria Nsukka, Maurice Iwu, has said a “drug” for the treatment of coronavirus might be ready “very soon”.

Iwu,a former chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission and the Chairman of the Imo State Task force on COVID-19, said a version of the drug was already in use.

“The work on the drug we are developing is still going on,” Iwu said while briefing newsmen in Owerri. “We are encouraged by the result we are getting. We are getting very positive signs.”

“Luckily the drug is a safe one. It is drug already in use. We are repurposing it for this particular purpose. So when we finished the studying and testing we are doing, I think the drug will come up in line very very soon.”

Most importantly, he added “if the pandemic escalates, the NAFDAC will know what to do, like they did in USA to fast track the use of chloroquine.”

“If we have a need NAFDAC will know what to do. Right now the product is in human use, what we are doing is to repurpose it for this particular event, ” he said.

Of Africa’s 54 countries, only four have yet to report a case of the virus: Comoros, Lesotho, Sao Tome and Principe and South Sudan.

Nigeria has recorded 184 confirmed cases so far: Lagos state has 98, FCT has 38, and Osun State has 14.

Oyo has eight cases, and Akwa Ibom has five cases. Ogun, Kaduna and Edo have four cases each, while Bauchi has three cases.

Edo, Enugu and Ekiti states have two cases each.