FDA approves anti-malarial drugs for corona treatment

WASHINGTON: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Sunday issued an emergency authorization for experimental coronavirus treatments using chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, anti-malaria drugs touted by President Donald Trump despite inconclusive clinical proof of their efficacy.

The Department of Health and Human Services said Sunday hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine products can “be distributed and prescribed by doctors to hospitalized teen and adult patients with COVID-19, as appropriate, when a clinical trial is not available or feasible.”

HHS said Germany’s Sandoz has already given 30 million doses of hydroxychloroquine to the Strategic National Stockpile, the federal government’s inventory of medical supplies for public health emergencies, while Bayer has donated a million doses of chloroquine, reports the international media.