COLOMBIA

In the last days of June, the National Institute for Food and Drug Surveillance (INVIMA, for its acronym in Spanish) authorized five institutions in the country to begin the WHO’s ‘Solidarity’ trial. This is an international clinical trial aimed at locating an effective treatment for COVID-19. Currently, clinical trials are being conducted around the world on four drugs: Remdesivir, Lopinavir/Ritonavir, Hydroxychloroquine and Interferon beta-1a.

In Colombia, INVIMA authorized evaluations of Remdesivir and Interferon, clarifying that these drugs may be used only and exclusively in the framework of clinical studies for patients affected by the virus. 

So far, until June 2020, the program had the participation of 35 countries around the world. More than 3,500 patients and 400 hospitals were involved in the tests, and over 100 countries have joined or expressed interest in joining the project. In the case of Latin America, countries already actively participating are Brazil, Peru, Honduras and Argentina, while Colombia is expected to join in the next few days and the Dominican Republic in the coming weeks. 

In Colombia, the program is coordinated by epidemiologist Carlos Álvarez, a professor at the National University of Colombia.

The first five institutions in the country authorized to start including patients in the study are: Colombia Clinic (Bogotá), Santa Maria del Lago Children’s Clinic (Bogotá), Sebastián de Belalcazar Clinic (Cali), Reina Sofía Clinic (Bogotá), and Iberoamerica Clinic (Barranquilla). The Institute stated that they may invite other institutions to take part, as long as they are certified in Good Clinical Practice (PCB). 

On the other hand, the Ministry of Science opened a call for business to invest in projects that contribute to solving problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants may obtain tax discounts on income deriving from Research, Development and Innovation (R+D+I) initiatives. Interested parties may send in comments until July 16 by clicking here.