As the coronavirus spreads across the world, and the number of people infected is increasing every day, there is an urgent need to find treatments against COVID-19 that could reduce complications and improve recovery. Recently, Israel's Health Ministry has approved multiple experimental treatments, and companies worldwide are attempting to determine what could be used to treat the deadly disease. Teva, the giant Israeli pharmaceutical company, has announced that it will donate more than six million doses of hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets through wholesalers to hospitals across the United States, starting March 31. Over 10 million tablets are expected to be shipped within a month.
The tablets are approved by US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of malaria, lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. The tablets are currently under investigation to determine their efficacy against the coronavirus, and US government officials have asked for their immediate availability and use.
“We are committed to helping to supply as many tablets as possible, as demand for this treatment accelerates, at no cost,” said Brendan O’Grady, Teva executive vice president North America commercial in a statement.
“Immediately upon learning of the potential benefit of hyroxychloroquine, Teva began to assess supply and to urgently acquire additional ingredients to make more product while arranging for all of what we had to be distributed immediately,” he added.
Teva is also reviewing its other products to determine if some could also be of use against the coronavirus.