Prominent advertisements paid for by former federal politician
Clive Palmer which promote a malaria drug as a potential “cure” for Covid-19 are “ethically immoral” according to Prof Peter Collignon, a former World Health Organization advisor who worked on Australia’s response to the Sars virus.
The two-page ad in the Australian states the drug, hydroxychloroquine, when combined with another medication could “wipe out the virus in test tubes” and Australia’s drugs regulator, the
Therapeutic Goods Administration [TGA], is now investigating whether the ad breaches drugs advertising rules. The ad says Palmer – who has headed several failed businesses and has been hit with criminal charges following an investigation by the corporate regulator – had agreed to personally fund the acquisition or manufacture of 1m doses “to ensure all Australians would have access to the drug as soon as possible”.
The ad also quotes the leader of an Australian clinical trial for the drug who describes the combined treatment as a “cure,” even though the trial is yet to begin or receive ethics approval. The ad ran despite the TGA warning that the drug and its derivatives “pose well-known serious risks to patients including cardiac toxicity potentially leading to sudden heart attacks, irreversible eye damage and severe depletion of blood sugar potentially leading to coma”.
Queensland businessman has pledged to fund 1m doses, despite warnings it can lead to heart attacks, eye damage and coma
www.theguardian.com