COVID-19: We have not approved any vaccines for clinical trial NAFDAC – Vanguard

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)Grants conditional emergency use of Antigen test kits, PPE, othersBy Joseph Erunke

ABUJATHE National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control,NAFDAC, said yesterday it has not approved any vaccines for clinical trial for coronavirus disease in the country.

NAFDAC said approval for vaccines for clinical trial might not happen before one year to 18 months, after clinical trials must have been conducted in different countries.

According to the agency, this will be followed by rigorous in-country assessment, in line with laid down protocols to further ensure safety and efficacy.

But the agency in a statement by its Director General, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, said it had given what it called conditional emergency use approval of medical devices (COVID-19) antibody and antigen test kits, PPEs, etc. to companies.

The approved antigen test kids, the agency explained, could detect the COVID-19 antigen in patients with or without symptoms.

It also explained that the antibody test kits (IgG/IgM) could be used in COVID-19 confirmed individuals, who could then be tested at the designated centres using the antibody kits, to confirm that they had antibodies and as such might not be infected again.

The statement read: National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control grants conditional emergency use approval of medical devices (COVID-19 Antibody and Antigen Test Kits, PPEs, etc.)

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, pursuant to the powers conferred on it by section 5 of the NAFDAC Act, to regulate and control the manufacture, importation, exportation distribution sale, use and advertisement of medical devices has taken some regulatory steps in the fight against COVID-19.

The pandemic has necessitated that NAFDAC put measures in place to ensure access to health commodities that have the potential to impact positively on public health outcomes.

These include, but are not limited to, diagnostics necessary to support public health infrastructure and guide the response necessary to combat and address the pandemic.

The antibody test kits (IgG/IgM) can be used in COVID-19 confirmed individuals, who can then be tested at the designated centers using the antibody kits, to confirm that they have antibodies and as such may not be infected again. The antigen tests kits on the other hand, can detect the COVID-19 antigen in patients with or without symptoms. The results are only qualitative (positive or negative.)

There has been a global effort by innovative diagnostic companies to develop test kits to aid in detection of the virus in patients to guide the management of the disease. The agency has recently received many requests for emergency use authorization for some of such diagnostic test kits to support national response.

NAFDAC has put in place regulatory measures to ensurequality, safety and efficacy criteria are assessed.

These measures are supported by documentation which include prior registration and approval by reference regulatory authorities, such as those of Japan USA, Germany, Canada, European Medicine Agency, etc.

Registration by the regulatory authority in the country of manufacture; declaration of conformity; and validation/performance evaluation /clinical evaluation report.

NAFDAC is part of the African Medical Devices Forum (AMDF), a Technical Working Group of African Medical Products Regulatory Harmonization (AMRH) that has a joint secretariat with WHO. Deliberations of the Forum that will be shared with the AMRH Steering Committee for approval and implementation, will further guide NAFDAC. Some of the technical issues that will come out of the deliberations include updates on the list of COVID-19 in vitro diagnostics and medical devices, substandard and falsified commodities and handling of donations.

NAFDAC will continue to stay abreast of current best global practices in this area and monitor updates to the WHO collated list of medical devices being used by different countries.

In addition to these requirements, the full approval of any diagnostic/test kit by NAFDAC for COVID-19 will be subject to in-country validation to assess the sensitivity or rate of failure (i.e., indication of false positives), and specificity.

Failure to comply could lead to revocation of any approval granted for importation of the products and forfeiture of same to the agency for destruction.

NAFDAC has reduced the registration to approval time from 120 working days to 10 days due to the pandemic. Thus far, the Agency has processed 17 applications using the expedited review process but has only granted emergency approval to seven companies using the criteria listed above.

The availability of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for health care providers is a critical component of the effort to stem the pandemic. These PPEs include gloves, protective goggles, face shields, protective gowns and masks in the form of particulate respirators and surgical masks. These must meet certain technical requirements and specifications to achieve the objective and offer some measure of protection to healthcare providers and limit their exposure to infection.

Please note, no vaccines have been approved for any clinical trial. That may not happen before one year to eighteen months, after clinical trials must have been conducted in different countries. This will be followed by rigorous in-country assessment in line with laid down protocols to further ensure safety and efficacy.

Vanguard

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COVID-19: We have not approved any vaccines for clinical trial NAFDAC - Vanguard