A settlement agreement that became an order of the Pretoria High Court yesterday, allowing wider access to Ivermectin in the treatment of Covid-19, is a victory for freedom of doctors and the public, says ACDP MP Steve Swart.
The settlement between the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra), the ACDP, Afriforum and other parties, permits the anti-parasitic drug to be compounded by registered pharmacists or medical practitioners and prescribed for the treatment of specific patients.
Doctors no longer have to use the “compassionate use” programme, initiated by Sahpra earlier this year, in which doctors had to apply through the authority’s Section 2 “compassionate use” programme (for unregistered medicines) for permission to use the drug to prevent and treat Covid-19.
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The court also ordered Saphra to report back to it every three months on various issues relating to Ivermectin and the programme, as well as allowing any party to approach the court inter alia on the insufficiency or the impraticality of the programme.
Yesterday’s settlement was a great victory for doctors and the people of SA who have been suffering under the scourge of the pandemic, as it allows much broader access to Ivermectin, says Swart in a statement posted on the ACDP Facebook page.
He says: “Lastly, it is significant that the ACDP was the only political party prepared to engage in this High Court battle. We commend our legal team, as well as the other parties, including Afriforum, the ‘I can make a difference; (Doctors and Medical Practitioners Group), various pharmacists, and the advocacy group, SAHARI, who assisted in achieving this victory.”
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Well done, ACDP!!
Well done team, greatly appreciated.