Hydroxychloroquine Tablet: India biggest producer of 'game-changer' hydroxychloroquine drug; has enough capacity | India Business News - Times of India

(File photo: AP)NEW DELHI: India is the biggest manufacturer of hydroxychloroquine , the anti-malarial drug that is being touted as 'game-changer' in the fight against COVID-19 and is being aggressively sought by US President Donald Trump. Days after it added the drug to the list of more than two dozen APIs that cannot be exported while officials get a handle on how much will be needed for COVID-19 outbreak in the country, India on Tuesday agreed to lift the ban after Trump sought supplies for the US. Coronavirus outbreak: Live updates India manufactures 70 per cent of the world's supply of hydroxychloroquine, according to Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) secretary-general Sudarshan Jain. Ipca Laboratories, Zydus Cadila and Wallace Pharmaceuticals are top pharma companies manufacturing HCQ in India. Recently, the ministry of health and family welfare had reportedly placed an order for around 10 crore tables of HCQ with Ipca laboratories and Zydus Cadila. Last month, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) partially lifted a three-year-old 'import alert' on Ipca's two plants to import the medicine. More on Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic: Complete Coverage21-day lockdown: What will stay open and what won'tHow to quarantine yourself at homeTrust the newspaper for your daily verified news Pharma industry officials said the country has enough stock of HCQ and companies were ready to ramp up the capacity to meet domestic requirements as well as exports. The objective is to minimise speculative buying and hoarding in these trying times and ensure balance in the distribution for patients and segments who need them, he added. In a similar vein, Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association (IDMA) executive director Ashok Kumar Madan said: "India needs around 24 million tablets per year as on date for the three indications -- malaria, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis, it was being used." Each COVID-19 patient reportedly needs 14 tablet course and so the 10 crore pills ordered by the government can potentially treat over 71 lakh people.