100,000 Chloroquine phosphate tablets (250 mg) and 7,000 doses of acetylcysteine (600 mg) were donated by the pharmaceutical company Abdi Ibrahim Global Pharm LLP to the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan for further distribution to COVID-19 patients.
The Kazakh-Turkish joint venture Abdi Ibrahim Global Pharm LLP is currently one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in Kazakhstan. The company's shareholders are Abdi Ibrahim, the largest Turkish pharmaceutical company, and Lancaster Group Kazakhstan, a Kazakh private diversified holding company. Against the background of the global coronavirus pandemic, the company's shareholders and management decided to provide assistance and donate to the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan drugs that have yielded positive results in research on the treatment of COVID-19 and are included in the Clinical Protocol of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Coronavirus Infection - COVID-19”, approved by the Republican Center for Health Development of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Clinical studies conducted in China have shown that Chloroquine phosphate, a well-known drug for the treatment of malaria, has obvious efficacy and acceptable safety in the treatment of pneumonia associated with COVID-19. It is recommended to include the drug in the next version of the Guidelines for the Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Pneumonia Caused by COVID-19, which is issued by the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved as an emergency measure the use of chloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19 in limited cases in a hospital setting. In France and India, this anti-malaria drug has been shown to be comparatively effective in curbing the development of pneumonia, improving lung health and shortening the duration of illness.
“At a time when the number of patients infected with coronavirus is increasing, the shareholders of Abdi Ibrahim Global Pharm LLP decided to implement this humanitarian project and transfer 100,000 Chloroquine phosphate tablets and 7,000 doses of acetylcysteine included in the COVID-19 treatment protocols to our compatriots, which will become a good reserve and will provide treatment for about 5,000 people,” said Mr. Berik Kaniev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Lancaster Group Kazakhstan”.
Acetylcysteine is a mucolytic, expectorant, and antioxidant agent most commonly prescribed to improve sputum discharge during productive coughing. This drug also helps fight glutathione depletion caused by the virus (glutathione is a powerful antioxidant that is produced in the body and performs protective functions). Low glutathione levels may be a risk factor for more severe COVID-19.
Mr. Nezih Barut, Chairman of Abdi Ibrahim, Turkey's leading pharmaceutical company, said: “We are closely following developments related to COVID-19, which began to spread rapidly in China and then to many other countries around the world. We sincerely hope that our drugs will support doctors, pharmacists, nurses and all medical professionals who are working selflessly to heal the citizens of Kazakhstan.”
Abdi Ibrahim Global Pharm LLP was established in October 2012. Today it is a company with a modern plant with hundreds of jobs that meets all the requirements of international GMP and GDP standards for the production of strategically important drugs for the treatment and prevention of diabetes mellitus, HIV, tuberculosis, cardiac, neuropsychiatric, gastroenterological and other diseases.
This step confirms the company's main mission — to “promote public health”, which is working to provide Kazakhstanis and residents of neighboring countries with a wide range of medicines and improve the quality of life of the population.
