Hydroxychloroquine not approved as anti-malarial drug in India, says Ipca Laboratories official

The Joint Managing Director of Ipca Laboratories Ajit Kumar Jain on Saturday said that hydroxychloroquine is not approved as an anti-malarial drug in India.

He said it is going viral across social media that hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is an anti-Malarial drug. "But in India it has no approval as an anti-malarial drug," Jain said.

He said two key starting materials needed for HCQ production are produced in India only.

"We neither import starting materials nor the drug from abroad. We export it across the globe," he said.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Saturday said that hydroxychloroquine or HCQ should be used as prophylaxis to prevent the coronavirus and not as a treatment for COVID-19.

India's total cases of coronavirus on Saturday climbed to 7,529 including 242 deaths and 652 people, who have either been cured or discharged, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.