Novartis, the Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company has been given a green light by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct a clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine for coronavirus patients.
The pharma company announced its intentions to start phase III of its clinical trial within the next few weeks. The trials will take place in a number of U.S. labs.
Hydroxychloroquine is an anti-malaria drug. It received recent fame after the FDA approved its use for an emergency use last month. Despite any scientific evidence in the matter, President Trump has consistently shown his support for the use of this drug, calling it a “game changer”.
The clinical trial is set to study around 440 coronavirus patients under hydroxychloroquine. They also mentioned that their drug supplier would be Sandoz. It’s genetics and biosimilars division.
The company also pledged to provide 130 million hydroxychloroquine tablets for global clinical research. 30 million doses were received by the Health and Human Services Department last month.
