More about Sunkovir drug for COVID-19 treatment

* Reporter: It is known that the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Traditional Medicine has just announced the successful research of the COVID-19 treatment drug Sunkovir, which is derived from traditional medicine (TM)?

Dr. Truong Thi Ngoc Lan

- Dr. Truong Thi Ngoc Lan: We are planning to hold a ceremony to announce the results of this drug's research on April 25. With the nationwide registration number granted under Decision No. 82/QD-YDCT, this can be considered the first traditional medicine drug approved to treat COVID-19 in Vietnam.

* Some say Sunkovir was developed from a dietary supplement?

- Actually, the functional food circulating on the market is "Kovir". It is impossible to have both a medicine and a functional food with the same name. Therefore, the functional food form is called "Kovir", and the medicine form is called "Sunkovir". The formulation of Kovir and Sunkovir are the same.

* So do you confirm this is medicine or functional food?

- I confirm that this is a medicine. Because it was only licensed on April 12, it has not been produced yet for nationwide circulation. But the functional food Kovir has been sold on the market for more than ten years.

* Which company produces this medicine? What is the role of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Traditional Medicine in this medicine project, madam?

- Let me clarify that the functional food product Kovir was born in 2013 with the purpose of supporting the treatment of influenza. The development of the drug Sunkovir was carried out by Sao Thai Duong Company, and the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Traditional Medicine is the clinical research unit. With this drug, we researched its effects on the treatment of COVID-19. Sao Thai Duong Company ordered us to research, and now it has been completed and we are preparing to announce the results.

We are announcing this drug not to promote the drug, but as an opportunity for our reporters to express their experiences during the blood, tears, and life-threatening phase. The project has gone through 3 research phases, starting from July 2021.

Sunkovir medicine researched by Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Traditional Medicine has just been licensed for circulation. Photo: Nguyen Thanh

* What are the specific therapeutic uses of Sunkovir, madam?

- This is a medicine derived from ginseng that detoxifies and originates from the Song Dynasty, and is used to treat colds, especially colds in patients with weak immune systems. This original ginseng detoxifies and improves symptoms of flu such as coughs, especially seasonal flu, and colds. Based on that, we have researched its use in treating COVID-19.

We studied a total of 3 phases. The first phase - phase 2A studied 66 patients, phase 2B studied 1,000 patients and phase 3 studied 537 patients.

In terms of effectiveness, this drug treats patients from the early stages, mild, moderate, and newly infected patients, reducing the risk of becoming seriously ill. Through clinical trials, all COVID-19 patients who used this drug did not become seriously ill.

As for patients with severe COVID-19, they must comply with treatment regimens of the Ministry of Health .

There is public opinion that Sao Thai Duong Company is collaborating with the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Traditional Medicine to legalize products from functional foods. What is your opinion on this issue?

- We conducted this study under the order of Sao Thai Duong Company, as well as according to the state's scientific research regulations. This study includes preclinical test results such as acute toxicity test, subacute toxicity test as well as treatment efficacy test on animals.

Because this is an ancient medicine, it is exempted from phase 1 treatment. Therefore, during the research process, we conducted phase 2A, phase 2B, and then phase 3. All of these research steps were approved by the local ethics committee and reported to the Department of Health and Ministry of Health for permission.

I confirm that this research fully complies with scientific research guidelines of Vietnam as well as the world. All three of our researches have been published in scientific research journals around the world.

It should also be added that, in the face of the complicated developments of the COVID-19 epidemic, in March 2021, the Ministry of Health issued Official Dispatch No. 1306/BYT-YDCT on guidelines for the use of traditional medicine in supporting the treatment of COVID-19. In October 2021, the Ministry of Health issued Decision No. 4539/QD-BYT dated September 25, 2021, allowing the temporary use of traditional medicine to prevent and control the COVID-19 epidemic.

This is the legal basis for the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Traditional Medicine to carry out professional activities in epidemic prevention using traditional medicine. In this "hot oil and fire" situation, we hope to have a traditional medicine product to support the treatment or cure COVID-19.

Licensing in accordance with the procedure

Speaking to reporters of Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen The Thinh, Director of the Department of Traditional Medicine Management - Ministry of Health, said that Sunkovir product was licensed by this agency in accordance with the correct procedure after the enterprise provided sufficient legal documents in accordance with current regulations.

Mr. Thinh emphasized that in principle, for traditional medicine, after receiving all documents, the advisory council will review and give opinions. If the requirements are met, it will be granted a circulation registration according to regulations.

D.Thu

WHO recommends combining Eastern and Western medicine in treating COVID-19

China is one of the countries that has widely applied TCM in the treatment of COVID-19 since the early days of the pandemic. In a study published in the medical journal Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B in September 2021, a group of Chinese scientists said that there are quite a few TCM drugs that are widely used in the treatment of COVID-19 at all levels, including Jinhua Qinggan Granules, Lianhua Qingwen capsules, Xuebijing injections, and decoctions such as Qingfei Paidu, Huashi Baidu, and Xuanfei Baidu, etc.

Most of these drugs have been shown to be effective in other respiratory diseases such as influenza. With COVID-19, they do not work as antivirals or monoclonal antibodies but rather aim to support the treatment of symptoms, for example helping to clear heat, detoxify, support the lungs, help shorten the fever phase... to reduce the number of days in hospital, while helping patients recover quickly. Many other traditional health-enhancing remedies are also used in China for disease prevention purposes.

The combination of Eastern and Western medicine has also been tested and applied in some other countries such as Japan with the Maoto herb, which is used as a preventive treatment for medical workers after exposure to COVID-19. North Korea also said that it increased the distribution of traditional remedies when the first wave of "fever disease" was reported.

In March 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) held an expert meeting to evaluate TCM in the treatment of COVID-19. WHO called on China to share its experience with other WHO member states; encouraged all member states to study and consider the integration of TCM and similar TCM interventions in planning the clinical management of COVID-19 patients.

A. Letter

Source: https://nld.com.vn/thoi-su/ro-hon-ve-thuoc-sunkovir-dieu-tri-covid-19-20230421221745511.htm