Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) has announced the immediate donation of more than 6 million doses of hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets to US hospitals. The Israeli pharmaceutical company will ship 10 million tablets through wholesalers to US hospitals by the end of the month. The donation will meet the urgent demand for the medicine as an investigational target to treat Covid-19.
Hydroxychloroquine sulfate is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of malaria, lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. Although the product is not approved for use in the treatment of Covid-19, it is under investigation for efficacy against the virus and has been requested by US government officials to be made available for use immediately. Teva is also reviewing supply of both hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine globally to determine whether there are additional supply and access opportunities for patients.
Teva EVP North America Commercial Brendan O'Grady said, "We are committed to helping to supply as many tablets as possible as demand for this treatment accelerates at no cost. Immediately upon learning of the potential benefit of hyroxychloroquine, Teva began to assess supply and to urgently acquire additional ingredients to make more product while arranging for all of what we had to be distributed immediately."
Teva said that it is also looking across its entire range of products to determine if the company can help to provide any other products that may be relevant in addressing acute and substantial need during the Covid-19 crisis.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 20, 2020
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