The United States has withdrawn the emergency authorization for two antimalarial drugs favoured by President Donald Trump to treat COVID-19, Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine were authorized in March after they were found to inactivate the virus in test tubes, and early small studies appeared to show they worked well in humans, too.
Safety concerns have been raised around their use particularly the risk of causing irregular heart rhythm in certain patients and the Us has officially put an end to the use of these drugs. “It is no longer reasonable to believe that oral formulations of HCQ and CQ may be effective in treating COVID-19,” Denise Hinton, chief scientist of the Food and Drug Administration wrote in a letter.
“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.”
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