Israeli pharma giant donates millions of doses of possible coronavirus drug to hospitals in the US

On Friday, a pharmaceutical giant in Israel announced that it would be donating millions of tablets holding a possible cure to coronavirus to U.S. hospitals, according to The Algemeiner.

Teva released a statement noting that over 6 million hydroxychloroquine sulfate doses would be distributed to wholesalers.

Teva Executive Vice President, North American 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.”

Hydroxychloroquine is a medicine used to treat arthritis and to prevent malaria. In the U.S., a prescription is required to obtain it. It is sold under the brand name—Plaquenil.

Teva’s statement said that hydroxychloroquine is “not currently approved for use in the treatment of COVID-19, it is currently under investigation for efficacy against the coronavirus and has been requested by US government officials to be made available for use immediately.”

The company added that it is “also reviewing supply of both hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine globally to determine whether there are additional supply and access opportunities for patients.”

On Thursday, during a White House press conference, President Donald Trump called hydroxychloroquine a potential “game-changer.”

Some medical professionals were not so optimistic. Dr. Anthony Fauci who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said, “There’s no magic drug out there right now.”

“That doesn’t mean that we’re not going to do everything we can to make things that have even a hint of efficacy more readily available.”