Morimasa Yagisawa, Patrick J. Foster, Hideaki Hanaki, Satoshi Ōmura

Ivermectin has been widely used since 1987 for the control of river blindness and lymphatic filariasis, as well as in the treatment of scabies in humans. Because it is an extremely safe and well-known inexpensive drug, it began to be used for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19 in Central and South American countries. One month after the declaration of the pandemic, countries such as Iraq, Egypt, Iran, and India began to register clinical trials with the US clinical trial registration site ClinicalTrials.gov and the WHO’s clinical trial registration platform …

As of the 30th of January 2021, a total of 91 trials in 27 countries has been recorded at these registration sites. There are 43 trials in phase 3 and 27 trials in phase 2, along with 17 observational studies. This includes 80 trials being conducted for therapeutic purposes and 11 for the purpose of preventing the onset of disease in close contacts and healthcare professionals.

Furthermore, by the 27th of February, the results of 42 clinical trials, including approximately 15,000 patients (both registered and unregistered studies) have been subjected to a meta-analysis after exclusion of biasing factors. It was found that 83% showed improvements with early treatment, 51% improved during late-stage treatment, and there was an 89% prevention of onset rate noted.