In addition to HCQ, the FDA on Monday also revoked its authorisation of the use of chloroquine phosphate (CQ), which can also treat and prevent malaria, for COVID-19 treatment, Sputnik reported.
The decision to scrap HCQ testing was based on evidence from the Solidarity Trial, the UK’s Recovery Trial and a Cochrane review of other evidence, WHO said in a statement. WHO’s own data showed HCQ did not reduce mortality of hospitalised Covid-19 patients compared with the standard of care.
The US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) decision came on Monday after it concluded that the anti-malarial drugs may not be effective to cure the virus infections and lead to greater risks than any potential benefits.
According to government sources, since April, India has been exporting HCQ on a case-by-case basis to the US, Australia, Poland, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Philippines and several African countries.
The NEJM study puts countries like ours in a bit of a spot. In India, as in several other countries, families of Covid-19 patients have been asked to take hydroxychloroquine as a preventive drug. The ICMR last month extended the use of this drug as prophylaxis after it found through observational studies that the drug did not have much side effect.
The study leaders also retracted an earlier report using the same company's database on blood pressure drugs published by the New England Journal of Medicine.
The pharmacovigilance programme also monitored the use of HCQ for highrisk healthcare workers in the counrty Prophylaxis refers to treatment given to prevent a disease. YK Gupta, who is also a member of ICMR, said HCQ, an anti-malarial drug, had even less toxicity than chloroquine.
The government has also begun an exercise to assign specific tariff code to every chemical to keep a check on imports, minister of state for chemicals and fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya told ET.
The ICMR has been pushing for the use of HCQ to prevent the spread of Covid-19 infection among frontline workers and, last month, it expanded the scope of the antimalarial medicine’s use.
"Biologically, it appears plausible that HCQ prophylaxis, before onset of infection, may inhibit the virus from gaining a foothold," researchers said in the study.
“We are doing what we are doing with responsibility,” Paul said, underlining that chloroquine is an old medicine with known efficacy and HCQ is even advanced and safer.
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