US withdraws emergency authorization of hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine for coronavirus patients
Drug developed for lung diseases shows great results in mice with spinal cord injuries
US Food and Drug Administration(FDA) has withdrawn emergency authorization of hydroxychloroquine(HCQ) and chloroquine (CQ) to treat coronavirus patients.
"It is no longer reasonable to believe that oral formulations of HCQ and CQ may be effective in treating COVID-19," Denise Hinton, head scientist, FDA, said, adding,"nor is it reasonable to believe that the known and potential benefits of these products outweigh their known and potential risk."
"Accordingly, FDA revokes the EUA for emergency use of HCQ and CQ to treat COVID-19," Hinton added.
The anti-malarial drug was touted by US President Donald Trump as a possible cure for COVID-19, despite many experts doubting its effectiveness.
The World Health Organization had earlier paused its trial after a Lancet report said it increased fatalities. However, the medical journal later claimed that that the study had shortcomings leading the WHO to restart the trial.
The drug was authorisedin March as the coronavirus pandemic swept the United States after experiments revealed that the drug inactivated the virus in test tubes, however, later it became a controversial issue over safety concerns.
In May,President Trump,74, had claimed that he has taken the drug asserting, "I can't complain about it, I took it for two weeks." "I felt good about taking it," the president stressed.