• Post led to conspiracies over the restriction of the drug to some jurisdictions.
• The drug was developed in 2009, to treat hepatitis C and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) but it is reported that it did not work against the two diseases.
A Facebook post showing a label of a drug claiming to be a malicious and unsafe Covid-19 vaccine only designated for distribution in African countries is not true.
The post shows an image of the drug called “Cipremi”, described as “Remdesivir for Injection”.
It is shown to be produced by Indian pharmaceutical company Cipla.
The packaging includes a heading “For use in below countries Only” followed by a list of African countries.
A second image reads “NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN US, CANADA OR EU”.
This led to conspiracies over the restriction of the drug to some jurisdictions.
The post caption reads, “For those advocating for the vaccine, it’s time to wake up and think right!”
The Star sought to find out the truth behind the post; in our research, we identified that Remdesivir is not a vaccine, but an anti-viral drug developed by Gilead Sciences Inc.
According to the National Institute of Health research paper in October 2020, the drug was developed in 2009, to treat hepatitis C and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) but it is reported that it did not work against the two diseases.
Instead, it was repurposed and studied as a potential treatment for Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus infections.
Lab tests also suggested it might have potent effects against coronaviruses such as those that cause SARS and MERS.
With Covid-19 falling in the family of the coronaviruses, the drug was seen as a potential at the start of the pandemic to manage the severe effects of the virus.
This saw the drug, in October, gain approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for official use to treat and manage the Covid-19 in the United States.
Limitation to countries.
According to the news website, the limitation to distribution of the drug to specific African countries is occasioned by the need to expand its supply of the treatment to other parts of the world.
This led to Gilead, the manufacturer, to sign a pact with Cipla for production to 127 other countries, as demand increased across the world.
The drug manufacturer said the label restriction shown in the social media posts simply indicates territories not licensed for Cipla to supply.
The Star investigation also shows that the World Health Organisation in November issued guidelines recommending against the use of Remdesivir for Covid-19 patients.
This was based on a study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) found a lack of evidence on the antiviral drug’s ability to improve patient outcomes.