Nigeria health minister, Dr. Osagie Ehanire on Tuesday revealed that Nigeria has started using remdesivir, an anti-retroviral drug, in managing COVID-19 patients.

While addressing members of the House of Representatives, the health minister disclosed this.

Ehanire stated: “We have been using that (remdesivir); we have tried that in Lagos too."

“So, we have tried the antiretroviral drug to see what effect it has."

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The minister explained that the drug, originally developed as a potential treatment for Ebola, is one of the options which Nigeria has adopted in treating COVID-19 patients.

Remdesivir, produced by Gilead pharmaceutical company, only interferes with the virus’s genome, disrupting its ability to replicate.

A recent clinical trial showed the drug helped shorten the recovery time for people who were seriously ill.

However, it did not significantly improve survival rates.

It also suggests a 10-day dosing duration for patients on ventilators and five days for patients who are not.

Gilead in a blog post on its website in April said the drug has not yet licensed or approved anywhere globally and has not yet been demonstrated to be safe or effective for the treatment of COVID-19.