FDA COVID-19 Ruling Causes Huge Surplus of Anti-Malarial Drugs, an Industrial Info Market Brief

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In response to the outcry for viable therapeutic drugs to treat COVID-19, scores of drug companies rushed to both ramp up production, as well as donate anti-malarial drugs hydroxychloroquine sulfate and chloroquine phosphate. Current estimates place the federal stockpile at 66 million doses.

But on June 15, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revoked the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the two drugs to treat COVID-19 for certain hospitalized patients when a clinical trial is unavailable or participation is not feasible. As a result, there is an excess supply. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services "is working with the companies that donated the hydroxychloroquine sulfate and chloroquine phosphate to determine the available options for the products that remain," according to Stephanie Bialek, chief of the Strategic National Stockpile's Communication Services Section.