TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Pharmaceuticals company PT Harsen Laboratories will sign a cooperation with the Defense University to run clinical trials on Ivermectin as a possible COVID-19 preventive drug under the former’s financing.

“The Defense University has asked PT Harsen to sponsor the clinical trials of Ivermectin as a prophylaxis or prevention,” PT Harsen Laboratories vice president Sofia Koswara said in a virtual press conference on Monday, June 28, 2021.

Sofia said the signing would be carried out with the Defense University rector next week. “We request your blessings,” she said.

Sofia said her company was asked to sponsor the trials to look into the possibilities of making Ivermectin a prophylaxis, while the Health Research and Development Division of the Health Ministry would test the anthelmintic for curative purposes at eight hospitals.

The use of Ivermectin as a COVID-19 cure has reaped pros and cons. The chairman of the Indonesian Farmers Association (HKTI), Moeldoko, said the drug was effective to fight COVID-19, adding he already distributed Ivermectin to his members in regions and it has proved to be potent. He said there were also a string of research and trials in multiple countries that confirmed its potency.

“I have used Ivermectin so many times and I am still healthy as a horse. We need to educate the people so they are not trapped in unproductive debates,” he said on the same occasion,

Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) cannot yet confirm the potency of the drug in combating COVID-19 due to the absence of further studies. BPOM Head Penny K. Lukito said the status of Ivermectin was still anthelmintic to date.

Read: Ivermectin's Potency Unproven against COVID-19, Says BPOM

M ROSSENO AJI