The FDA has utilized the emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for the treatment of coronavirus. The drugs have undergone five international tests, one each in Australia, China and the United States and two case studies in France. In the five studies, only two patients did not fully recover within six days. Both were older with other medical problems.
New York State is going to start using the drugs in that state this week. The FDA decision will open up opportunities for doctors to use the drugs in fighting the disease. Various drug companies are donating dosages of the drugs to the United States for a total of about 165 million doses led by the 130 million being donated by Novartis.
The French has just sanctioned the use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in that country. In the United States, the Michigan Governor Democrat Gretchen Whitmer has banned their use in her state. Nevada Governor Democrat Steve Sisolak has issued a partial ban on the drugs. No word yet on if the FDA announcement will change their policies.
“Pre-clinical studies in animals as well as the first data from clinical studies show that hydroxychloroquine kills the coronavirus,” Narasimhan told SonntagsZeitung. “We’re working with Swiss hospitals on possible treatment protocols for the clinical use of the drug, but it’s too early to say anything definitively.”
The French government also cleared a larger pathway for the use of chloroquine this weekend, officially sanctioning the drug for certain patients infected with the novel virus, The Daily Wire noted.
“The French government has officially sanctioned prescriptions of chloroquine to treat certain coronavirus patients,” France 24 English reported Saturday.
“This ensures continued treatment of patients who have been treated for several years for a chronic condition with this drug, but also allows a temporary authorization to allow certain patients with coronavirus to benefit from this therapeutic route,” France’s director general of health Jérôme Salomon said.
The move from the French government comes on the heels of infectious disease specialist Didier Raoult announcing new clinical results, which can be accessed here, that show 78 out of 80 patients treated with chloroquine recovered within five days, a report from Trustnodes said.
The five-day recovery time is “considerably” faster “than the usual 14 days and for some it can go up to 28 days if they recover at all,” Trustnodes added.