By Rogers Wanambwa 

KIU, Main Campus – On Wednesday, August 11th, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it will be testing three new drugs for COVID-19. The tests are expected to involve thousands of researchers at more than 600 hospitals in 52 countries.

In a press release issued by WHO on Wednesday, these three new drugs are artesunate (a treatment for severe malaria), imatinib (a drug for particular cancers), and infliximab (a treatment for immune system disorders such as Crohn’s Disease).

According to WHO, the therapies were selected by an independent expert panel for their potential in reducing the risk of death in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and they were donated for the trial by their manufacturers.

“Finding more effective and accessible therapeutics for COVID-19 patients remains a critical need, and WHO is proud to lead this global effort,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Previously, WHO has tested four drugs, i.e. remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir, and interferon, and the initial results showed that they had little or no effect on hospitalized patients with COVID-19.