ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Zafar Mirza on Thursday said that special permission had been granted by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) to begin the clinical trials of plasma therapy to treat patients of the novel coronavirus in Pakistan.
Talking to the media in the federal capital, Mirza also announced that the drug regulatory body had allowed drug manufacturers to fast-track the refining of raw materials used to make chloroquine, a drug that health experts believe is partially effective in treating virus patients.
The special assistant for health further revealed that last week he had established the DRAP Expert Committee on ventilators to test locally manufactured medical equipment. “At a great speed they have already produced fast track acceptance test procedure for locally developed mechanical ventilators for COVID-19,” said Mirza.
Mirza noted that companies manufacturing hand sanitizers had also been asked to comply with international standards or risk being pulled from the market.
