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Govt bans export of anti-malarial drug hydroxycloroquine

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    Science & Technology
  • Published
    26th Mar, 2020
  • Government banned export of anti-malarial drug hydroxycloroquine and formulations made from it in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak.
  • It is aimed at ensuring sufficient availability of the medicine in the domestic market. However, export of the medicine will be allowed on humanitarian grounds on case-to-case basis as per the recommendation of Ministry of External Affairs.
  • Earlier, Indian Council of Medical Research had recommended the use of hydroxychloroquine for treating healthcare workers handling suspected or confirmed coronavirus cases and also the asymptomatic household contacts of the lab-confirmed cases.
  • Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), sold under the brand name Plaquenil among others, is a medication used for the prevention and treatment of certain types of malaria. Specifically it is used for chloroquine-sensitive malaria.
  • Other uses include treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and porphyria cutanea tarda.

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