Clinical trials of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, a treatment strongly advocated by US President Donald Trump, has been suspended by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The decision was made after the agency under the country's Department of Health & Human Services found that the drug had no real benefit to treating COVID-19 patients.
The decision to halt all clinical trials of the drug comes after US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had revoked its emergency to treat infected patients in hospitals. The World Health Organization (WHO) had also dropped the particular treatment from its global study.
In a statement published by the NIH on Saturday, it revealed that its data and safety monitoring board found no clear evidence of the drug's efficacy in helping COVID-19 patients. The agency stated that while there is no real harm in using the treatment, its continued use in hospitals poses no real benefits.
The NIH's finding is similar to the FDA's own determination of the drug's efficacy. In a separate statement, the FDA determined that the small risk of side effects, which includes potentially serious heart rhythm issues, is too big to take given the treatment's lack of efficacy.
Hydroxychloroquine, which is being pushed by Trump and other politicians, is mainly used to treat rheumatoid conditions and malaria. The drug became a household name after initial findings by small studies published earlier in the year suggested that it could have some benefits to people suffering from COVID-19.
Trump further fueled reports of the drug's efficacy after admitting that he had personally taken the medication to protect himself from the virus. White House physician Dr. Sean Conley directly promoted the drug after he stated that the "potential benefits" provided by taking hydroxychloroquine outweighs its relatively low risks of side effects.
Unfortunately, later studies conducted by large institutions found that the drug was actually not helpful in treating coronavirus symptoms. One study conducted by the New England Journal of Medicine found that the drug did not work any better than a placebo in preventing COVID-19 infections. Additionally, the larger studies found that the drug could cause life-threatening heart issues in some patients.
For now, the FDA has yet to approve any drug to treat COVID-10. As of today, the US continues to be the heaviest hit by the global disease, with more than 2.3 million confirmed cases. So far, the disease has taken more than 122,000 American lives. Globally, confirmed cases of the coronavirus have reached over 9 million, with 470,000 deaths.
