India lifts export ban on hydroxychloroquine, a drug claimed by Trump

“The Pharmaceuticals Department has approved the lifting of the export ban on API hydroxychloroquine and its formulations,” said Indian Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers Sadananda Gowda. here on Twitter.

Manufacturers, with the exception of export-oriented units and those located in special economic zones, are still expected to supply 20% of their production to the domestic market, said Gowda.

The country, a leading exporter of generic drugs worldwide, banned the export of the drug and its formulations in March, as the coronavirus epidemic disrupted supply chains.

But India relaxed some of these restrictions in April and shipped 50 million tablets of the drug to the United States that month, Reuters reported.

Trump’s defense of hydroxychloroquine had initially raised expectations for treatment, but conflicting reports about its effectiveness have added to the confusion about the decades-old drug.

Last week, British scientists halted a major trial after discovering that the drug was “useless” to treat patients with COVID-19.

A Lancet Medical Journal study which found that hydroxychloroquine increased the risk of death in patients with COVID-19 was withdrawn a week after the main trials were stopped.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has said it will resume testing the drug for potential use against the new coronavirus after those who led the study briefly stopped giving it to new patients due to health problems.

The IPCA and Cadila Healthcare laboratories are two main Indian manufacturers of the drug. IPCA shares fell 1.2%, while Cadila shares rose 1% in a broader Mumbai market, which was down on Thursday. (.BO)