First batch of hydroxychloroquine by Cipla-Quality chemicals expected this week

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Local pharmaceutical Company Cipla Quality Chemicals Industries (CiplaQC) will this weekend produce its first quantities of malaria drug hydroxychloroquine which has also been used in the treatment of people with coronavirus.

The company executive director Nevin J. Bradford told URN that they received raw materials that are sufficient for 300,000 doses initially.

Production of the drug however starts at the time of controversy about the effectiveness of the drug with the World Health Organization (WHO) announcing on Monday that the drug had been removed from the list of drugs that they were giving to patients participating in their global treatment trial dubbed ‘solidarity’ which has over 17 countries involved.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General told journalists that they decided this removal after new evidence emerged that patients who used the drug either alone or in a combination of an antibiotic had higher mortality rates and heart problems than those who were not.

Another COVID-19 study by Makerere University Lung Institute found no significant differences in recovery time for patients that were given hydroxychloroquine and those that were not given since those on the drug recovered in six days whereas those that weren’t recovered in eight days.

With these findings, Dr Diana Atwiine, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health told URN that while CiplaQC’s production is welcome, they are no longer keen about having this drug.

But Bradford said their target wasn’t for COVID per see. “We hope it will not be required for COVID in which case the drug will be used in its other indications for the treatment of systemic lupus erythymatosis (autoimmune disease) and rheumatoid arthritis”, he said.

He explained that while the first production is specific to the response, they are set to broaden their product portfolio to include the manufacture medicines for the treatment of cardiovascular conditions, diabetes and cancer.

Bradford further says the first manufacture is targeting the Ugandan market but if there is a surplus which is most likely since people who require the drug for COVID-19 treatment will be low according to experts, he says they will sale to other countries in the region.

However, apart from the new drug, CIPLAQC also makes anti-malarial drug Lumarten, ARVs and antiviral drugs for HIV which are sold across the region.

READ LATEST UGANDA UPDATES ON COVID-19 HERE (click)

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