Coronavirus: India has stock of 3.28 crore hydroxychloroquine tablets, says Health Ministry
The government of India on Friday said that there is enough stock of hydroxychloroquine (anti-malarial drug) in the country and it is taking all the steps to ensure that there is no shortage of the drug in the domestic market. India is one of the biggest manufacturers of the anti-malarial drug that is being touted as a ‘game-changer’ in the fight against coronavirus pandemic.
Joint Secretary Lav Aggarwal said that "We have a domestic requirement of 1 crore hydroxychloroquine tablets while we have 3.28 crore hydroxychloroquine tablets available now."
National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) Chairman Shubhra Singh told the news agency PTI that "There is enough stock of hydroxychloroquine in the country and we are tracking its demand, availability, and production on a daily basis.” She added that India is the world’s largest manufacturer of the drug, which is used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, malaria, and lupus.
Shubhra said that ensuring the availability of the drug in the country is India's first priority. "Only after the meeting the demand here, the exports are being done,” she added. However, she cautioned that medicine should only be taken after consulting the doctors.
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As per the report, India manufactures 70 percent of the world’s supply of hydroxychloroquine. Companies like Zydus Cadila and IPCA are the major manufacturers of hydroxychloroquine in the country. The Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association (IDMA) said that India has an annual capacity of 40 tonnes of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) of hydroxychloroquine.
-PTC News
