Coronavirus impact: Chloroquine demand skyrockets after ICMR recommendation

The anti-malarial drug Chloroquine has become the most sought after medicine after ICMR recommended it as a preventive medicine in certain high-risk cases, IANS reported.

According to an earlier study, chloroquine did prove to have clinical and virological benefits versus a comparison group. Chloroquine is one of the antivirals recommended for coronavirus but clinical trials are still on.

Pharmaceutical company Ipca Laboratories share price reportedly rose over 12 per cent after the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) partially allowed import of chloroquine. The company manufactures the drug and has informed the BSE and NSE that the drug has a high demand in USA.

In the filing Ipca said that there is a shortage implication or medical necessity of certain drugs and finished products, as a result, the USFDA made an exception and allowed the import of the company's Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and finished products including Hydroxychloroquine Sulphate and Chloroquine Phosphate produced by the company.

However, Ipca denied answering questions on US demand for the drug citing corporate reasons.

Also Read: Coronavirus outbreak: ICMR recommends use of hydroxy-chloroquine for critical COVID-19 cases

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