Tocilizumab steady supply still a ‘challenge’

Ensuring a steady supply of the drug tocilizumab, which is used to treat COVID-19 patients, from other countries remains a “challenge,” Vergeire said.

“It is really a challenge for us to source tocilizumab because there is a local shortage and we don’t have supply,” she said.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III earlier said the government expecting 10,000 vials of tocilizumab by the end of September but there is still no word whether these have arrived.

Tocilizumab has been recommended for COVID-19 treatment by the World Health Organization, which said it reduces the need for ventilators and medical oxygen.

It belongs to the class of drugs called monoclonal antibodies that are used in the treatment of various diseases, including cancers.