French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi has committed to donating 100 million doses of the decades-old anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine — a potential but unproven weapon against COVID-19 — to 50 countries across the world.
The company has already doubled its production capacity of the drug across its eight hydroxychloroquine manufacturing sites worldwide and is on track to quadruple it by summer, the company said in a Friday statement.
Sanofi said its priority is “to ensure supply continuity” for patients who use the medication for its currently approved purposes‚ including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis treatment — “while working hard to supply governments wishing to increase stocks in the hope that it may be an effective treatment of COVID-19,” the statement said.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented health and economic crisis which is shaking some of the very fundamentals of international solidarity and cooperation among countries,” Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson said in the statement. “This virus does not care about the concept of borders, so we shouldn’t either.”
“It is critical that international authorities, local governments, manufacturers, and all the other players involved in the hydroxychloroquine chain work together in a coordinated manner to ensure all patients who may benefit from this potential treatment can access it,” he added. “If the trials prove positive, we hope our donation will play a critical role for patients.”
President Trump has touted the drug as a potential life-saver, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo has agreed to provide it to thousands of seriously ill patients in New York hospitals in combination with Zithromax.
But critics say the drug could pose potentially lethal risks to those susceptible to heart conditions.
They also say the promotion of the drug could lead to a shortage of the medication for those who normally use it for other illnesses.