A team of Pakistani health professionals Friday claimed making anti-coronavirus medicine that could potentially rid the health professionals of use of personal protection equipments (PPEs) and effectively treat Covid-19 within eight days.
Addressing a press conference here, Dr Tahir Sharif, former medical superintendent (MS) Holy Family Hospital Rawalpindi along with Dr Qazi Naseem, former MS District Hospital Skardu, Intizar Usmai, pharmacist specialists, Managing Director REPAD Bakhtiyar Qayyum, and Chairman REPAD Mohammad Rehan said that their company had made a medicine for the coronavirus patients, "Minerolytevir" with ability to cure the patients within eight days. They further said that the medicine could be used as an inhaler, spray and as sanitizer with proven results not only as protection against coronavirus but as a treatment. Moreover, they said that the sanitizer made by their company could rid the health professionals of use of all the PPEs.
"Doctors and nurses just can apply it, and may go to their duties without any fear as it provides total protection against the Covid-19 for up to 10 hours, while a normal sanitizer is only effective for a few minutes," they maintained.
Dr Sharif said that some of the confirmed coronavirus patients had privately used the medicine in Mayo Hospital Lahore, and few patients also used the product in Rawalpindi/Islamabad all were now free of coronavirus.
They offered the government of providing their team of health professionals to treat the patients in government-run hospitals without any cost.
"We have extended the offer to the government to take the product for the corona patients as donations. We have ability to treat up to 400 patients daily, if the government is willing to get the product," they said.
They said that the particles used in the product is a combination of various antivirus components, which have been used in Russia and New Zealand but they have not tested it for Covid-19 patients but REPAD team with further improvements has tested it, and find it completely free of any side effects.
Answering questions, they said that their company had approached the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) and the Ministry of National Health and Regulations but they did not get a positive response.
The DRAP and the National Health Ministry officials just responded that so far the World Health Organization (WHO) was unable to find a solution to the Covid-19, how REPAD could make such a claim.
They said that the company wanted to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, to make this announcement but the response from the Ministry of Health was not encouraging; therefore, the company decided to publicly announce, so that the people of Pakistan could get access to the easily available treatment.
The medicine can be used as a preventive measure to check the spread of the Covid-19 as well as the treatment of the disease and it will rid the health system of massively investing in ventilators.
"We are in a position to produce the product on industrial basis, and can supply wherever it is needed but we are looking towards the Government of Pakistan to come forward and take advantage," the doctors said.