The Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) announced that Lianhua Qingwen capsules has been provisionally removed from the list of dangerous drugs.
After public hearings, discussions and thorough evaluation, the Committee on Reclassification of the DDB recommended and resolved under Regulation No. 1 Series of 2021, a copy of which was sent to Frontpageph.com, to remove Lianhua Qingwen capsules from the list of dangerous drugs for a period of one (1) year pursuant to section 93 of RA 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Act of 2002.
This means that prescription from an S2-licensed doctor is no longer required when buying Lianhua Qingwen capsule.
An S2 license is issued only to physicians, veterinarians or dentists who are authorized to prescribe dangerous drugs and who have registered with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to be able to prescribe regulated drugs because not all doctors are allowed to order such type of drugs.
The DDB regulation takes effect 15 days after publication, which in this case is March 12, 2021.
The timing could not be better as the nation faces a surge of COVID-19 cases that breached the 5,000 mark per day, the highest daily tally in the last seven months, and where family clustering of COVID-19 cases have already been observed. This prompted the issuance of localized lockdowns in several cities in the National Capital Region (NCR) and the issuance of a uniform region-wide curfew from 10:00 pm to 5:00 am for a period of two weeks.
The effectiveness of the reclassification of Lianhua Qingwen comes at a time wherein all the help is needed to curb the surge and bring it down to more manageable levels. The herbs in Lianhua Qingwen are traditionally used to clear wind-heat from and detoxify the lungs, thereby treating cases with fever, sore throat, cough, stuffy or runny nose, aversion to cold, muscle soreness, headache, wheezing—symptoms that are present in a person with COVID-19.
Phil. Archipelago Intl. Trading Corp., the exclusive Philippine distributor of Lianhua Qingwen, manufactured by Yiling Pharmaceutical of China, is also in the process of getting the approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reclassify Lianhua Qingwen as over-the-counter (OTC) capsules.
For the meantime, Lianhua Qingwen capsules can now be dispensed with a doctor prescription at a retail price of P288.00/box (24 capsules/box). It is also now available in all Mercury Drug Store branches nationwide and other drug stores.
For more information on Lianhua Qingwen, visit www.philarchipelago.com or call tel. no. (02) 8361-7491 to 98 loc. 844.