Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - May 29, 2001
Aphaluck Bhatiasevi
Deputy Public Health Minister Suraphong Suebwonglee said the Medical Registration Division would look into the operations of the clinic and the free distribution of the drug, which has led hundreds of HIV/Aids patients to believe that it can kill the virus.
He said the patients should not be misled to believe that the drug can cure HIV/Aids, as further research was needed to prove its effectiveness.
Dr Suraphong said the Medical Sciences Department had co-ordinated with the Salang Bunnag Foundation and compiled information on nine HIV/Aids patients visiting the clinic since last year, but found no significant improvement in their health after taking the drug.
Paisal Tan-ud, representing the Network of People with HIV/Aids in Thailand, urged the ministry to immediately look into the matter, in order to protect people with HIV/Aids from being fooled into using the drug.
"I am afraid my friends might be convinced into using the drug. This may cause them to stop using other necessary drugs for opportunistic infections," Mr Paisal said.
Dr Suraphong said it was also not right for the clinic to stop patients from taking other drugs, despite scientific evidence that drugs for opportunistic infections and anti-retroviral drugs were effective in treating HIV/Aids patients.
The Food and Drug Administration will also revoke the licence for the product, which is registered in Chachoengsao, according to FDA secretary-general Vichai Chokeviwat.
Dr Vichai said the V-1 Immunitor pill has been registered as a general food product for export only, while Dr Montri Sethabutr, deputy chairman of the foundation who heads the clinic, claimed it was registered as a food sup plement.
Dr Montri said the product has also received a licence for manufacturing as a drug for research purposes.
He said the licence was issued to Amornkiat Trading Co, whose licence to start a firm to produce drugs had been revoked due to land problems.
Dr Montri insisted he had done nothing wrong since the product was being given to HIV/Aids patients for free.
He said the number of patients visiting his clinic increased because of the successful use of the drug, adding that most patients heard of the clinic from their friends and neighbours whose health had improved after its use.
Dr Montri said initially only some 100 patients visited the clinic, which is open only on Saturdays, but recent news coverage has attracted more than 600 patients.
The clinic has been in operation for nearly two years but has only recently received a licence to operate as a clinic.
Dr Montri said the operation of the clinic is not considered illegal because the drug was earlier distributed by pharmacists under the foundation.
The V-1 Immunitor pill is made up of magnesium and calcium which are added with fossils of the Aids virus, Dr Montri said.
He said the information claimed in the clinic's leaflets was not misleading.
He also insisted that the properties of the drug stated in the leaflet-"induces immunity to kill the Aids virus so that people with Aids return to normal"-does not mean that people with HIV/Aids will be cured of the disease.
"I have not told them that the drug can completely cure them. I only said the drug can improve their life and this is true," Dr Montri said.
Though the drug needs further scientific proof to assure its properties, he said several patients' white blood cell count (CD4 count) had improved, indicating the effectiveness of the drug.
Deputy health minister Surphong said the Medical Sciences Department, which is responsible for looking into the effectiveness of the drug, and the Medical Services Department which is responsible for looking into the ethical aspects of researches involving humans, were willing to support the research if the authorities concerned went through the right channels.
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