SAHPRA: Ivermectin clinical trials to start soon SAHPRA CEO, Dr Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela, said that clinical trials from the universities of the Free State, Stellenbosch and Wits are expected to shed light on the drug's benefits. FILE: A health worker shows a box containing a bottle of Ivermectin, a medicine authorized by the National Institute for Food and Drug Surveillance (INVIMA) to treat patients with mild, asymptomatic or suspicious COVID-19, as part of a study of the Center for Paediatric Infectious Diseases Studies, in Cali, Colombia, on July 21, 2020. Picture: Luis Robayo/ AFP. 46 days ago CAPE TOWN - The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) said that three clinical trials on the efficacy of Ivermectin for COVID-19 treatment in South Africa may start soon.