"Indonesia is taking part in the Solidarity Trial, so it will follow WHO's instructions on chloroquine," team leader of the Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Handling, Wiku Adisasmito, said during a press conference on Thursday in Jakarta.
Wiku confirmed the WHO has temporarily halted Solidarity Trials of hydroxychloroquine and said it will provide the results of its final assessment regarding the use of the malaria drug for COVID-19 treatment in two weeks.
More than 30 countries are participating in the Solidarity Trial, a WHO initiative for joint research and clinical testing to develop drugs and therapies for COVID-19 treatment.
"For the trial, the WHO (has) stopped (use of hydroxychloroquine),” he said adding, it is not yet known whether trials of the drug will be continued in the future.
The Solidarity Trial will compare standard treatment against treatment using four types of drugs, namely remdesivir, liponavir / ritonavir, liponavir / ritonavir combined with beta-1 interferon, and chloroquine.
As previously reported, the WHO has temporarily paused testing of hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug, on COVID-19 patients due to safety concerns.
"Executives have temporarily suspended the use of hydroxychloroquine in preliminary trials, following a safety review by the data security monitoring board," WHO Secretary General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was quoted by Reuters as saying on May 26, 2020. (INE)
Related news: Indonesia to conduct COVID-19 drug trials at 22 hospitals
Related news: Indonesia joins WHO's COVID-19 clinical trial
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Indra Arief, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
