India set to ship drug sought by Trump for coronavirus

Ipca Laboratories

10/04/2020 13:17

By Zeba Siddiqui and Sumit Khanna
    NEW DELHI/AHMEDABAD, April 10 (Reuters) - India is set to
begin shipping the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to the United
States where President Donald Trump has touted it as a potential
weapon against the coronavirus.
    "The first shipments should start next week," said Sudarshan
Jain, secretary general of Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA).
    India is the world's largest producer of hydroxychloroquine
but last month banned most exports to secure its own supplies,
drawing warnings of retaliation from Trump.
    This week India allowed some exports of the drug and Trump
has thanked New Delhi for the decision.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2BU4CM
    Jain said companies in India are ramping up capacity to meet
the U.S. demand, including Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
 TEVA.TA , IPCA Laboratories  IPCA.NS  and Cadila Healthcare
 CADI.NS .
    Cadila has increased production tenfold to 30 metric tonnes
per month and is ready to produce more if needed, Managing
Director Sharvil Patel told Reuters. 
    Companies are ramping up while battling a three-week
nationwide lockdown India imposed on March 25. 
    Cadila is based in western India's Gujarat state, a drug
production hub where industry insiders say the shutdown has
forced companies to contend with supply chain disruptions and
worker shortages. 
    "There are 28 manufacturers of hydroxychloroquine in
Gujarat," said H.G. Koshia, a senior drugs department official.
"All of them have enhanced production in view of rise in
demand."
    The IPA's Jain said firms were confident they could produce
adequate quantities to meet both global and domestic demand.
    "The government is getting a lot of requests from other
countries," Jain noted.
    India is stocking at least four months' supply and has
agreed to export to at least 30 countries, according to export
body Pharmexcil's estimates. 
    Hydroxychloroquine is unproven as a treatment https://in.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-usa-hydroxychloroq/special-report-doctors-embrace-drug-touted-by-trump-for-covid-19-without-hard-evidence-it-works-idINKBN21O2VH
 but its use has soared as the United States has quickly become
the epicentre of the pandemic.
    U.S. deaths due to coronavirus topped 16,400, while India's
death toll stands at 199. https://in.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-southasia/south-asian-nations-weigh-tighter-lockdowns-as-coronavirus-cases-hit-12000-idINKCN21S0PK

 (Additonal reporting by Neha Dasgupta in New Delhi; writing by
Abhirup Roy and Zeba Siddiqui; editing by Aditya Kalra and Jason
Neely)
 ((abhirup.roy@thomsonreuters.com; + 91 22 6180 7067; Reuters
Messaging: abhirup.roy.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))