Pharmaceutical company Sanofi said Friday it had agreed to donate 100 million doses of hydroxychloroquine, the decades-old anti-malaria medicine that some have described as a possible weapon against the novel coronavirus, across 50 countries.
The French drugmaker disclosed that it expanded its production capacity by half across its eight manufacturing facilities globally for hydroxychloroquine, adding it was on track to quadruple their output by summer.
Sanofi said its goal is to "ensure continuity of supply" for patients who use the drug for their currently approved purposes‚ like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis care - while working hard to supply governments that wish to increase stocks in the hope that COVID-19 may be successful, the statement said.
French doctor Didier Raoult raised expectations by treating patients with a combination of hydroxychloroquine (HQC) and antibiotic azithromycin, an effort several health officials are reluctant to support in the absence of more comprehensive research.
French President Emmanuel Macron met Raoult and his team in Marseille on Thursday to discuss their new results, although the president did not publicly comment on the meeting afterwards.
Sanofi admitted that the definitions of the available preliminary data on hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 management differ widely.
Several nations, including the United States, use hydroxychloroquine as a life-saving measure against the coronavirus, although there is no medical proof that the disease can be cured by the drug.
The COVID-19 pandemic is an unparalleled health and economic crisis that shakes some of the very pillars of international unity and cooperation between countries, Paul Hudson, chief executive officer of Sanofi, said in a statement. The virus, according to Hudson, "doesn't care about the concept of borders, so we shouldn't either."
While hydroxychloroquine creates much optimism for patients around the world, it should be noted that there are no findings from clinical research, and the findings could be positive or negative, Hudson said. If the trials are successful, "we hope our donation will play a crucial role for patients."
Other firms have also promised to offer the medicines, with Novartis from Switzerland offering 130 million doses of chloroquine, and generic Israeli manufacturer Teva pledging 10 million doses of HQC for US medical facilities.
US President Donald Trump has been among the advocates of the drug. As a matter of fact, he tweeted that hydroxychloroquine plus an antibiotic may be "one of the biggest game-changers in medicine history" and should be put into use as soon as possible.
