Fabunan Antiviral Injection
| Alternative medicine | |
|---|---|
| Modality | Injection |
| Claims | Treatment against dengue, chikungunya, dog bite, snakebite, HIV/AIDS, and COVID-19 |
| Original proponents | Ruben and Willie Fabunan |
The Fabunan Antiviral Injection (FAI) is a patent medicine sold by US-based Filipino doctors Ruben and Willie Fabunan, who claim it can treat dengue fever, chikungunya, dog bite, snakebite, and HIV/AIDS.
Formulation
According to US Patent 6,172,053 B1, Fabunan contains procaine hydrochloride, a water-soluble ester anesthetic, and dexamethasone sodium phosphate, a corticosteroid with well-known anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant properties. The solution is intended to be administered as an intramuscular injection.
Validity of claims
The patent application cites six case studies for conditions such as dengue, dengue hemorrhagic fever and AIDS, which were all conducted at the Fabunan Medical Clinic in Burgos. To date, no registered clinical trials of the Fabunan Antiviral Injection have been performed to validate the Fabunans' claims.
COVID-19 claims
Recent claims promoted on social media that it can cure COVID-19 are not supported by the Philippine government, which has issued a cease and desist order to Fabunan Medical Clinic in Zambales, prompting the clinic to stop its operations on April 2. On April 15, 2020, the fact-checking website Rappler warned against false claims on YouTube and Facebook that the so-called treatment had been approved, and pointed out that on April 8, 2020, the FDA warned the public against the use of drugs or vaccines that are not yet certified to treat COVID-19, particularly the Fabunan Antiviral Injection. Similarly, claims popularly spread in YouTube videos in June 2020 that Fabunan has been approved in Indonesia have been demonstrated to be false.