The FDA just approved yesterday the treatment of the coronavirus with two Chloroquine drugs that have been show effective against the virus:
THE HILL – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Sunday issued an emergency-use authorization for a pair of anti-malaria drugs as health officials work to combat the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said in a statement that the authorization would allow 30 million doses of hydroxychloroquine sulfate and 1 million doses of chloroquine phosphate to be donated to the Strategic National Stockpile. The doses of hydroxychloroquine sulfate were donated by Sandoz, while the chloroquine phosphate was developed by Bayer Pharmaceuticals.
The products will 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.
From the actual HHS press release:
“President Trump is taking every possible step to protect Americans from the coronavirus and provide them with hope,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “Scientists in America and around the world have identified multiple potential therapeutics for COVID-19, including chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. The President’s bold leadership and the hard work of FDA and HHS’s Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response have succeeded in securing this large donation of medicine. We’ll continue working around the clock to get American patients access to therapeutics that may help them battle COVID-19, while building the evidence to evaluate which options are effective.”
This is great news, as the drugs had previously only been available to doctors for ‘off-label’ use only. Note, however, that it does say the drugs can be “prescribed by doctors to hospitalized teen and adult patients with COVID-19”. “Hospitalized” is the key word there. In other words, if your local family doctor is prescribing it, it’s still considered ‘off-label’.
We’ve been hearing a lot about ‘stockpiles’ lately. In case you are wondering about the “Strategic National Stockpile”, it is “the nation’s largest supply of life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency severe enough to cause local supplies to run out.” According to their website, “200 federal and contract employees” staff the Strategic National Stockpile.