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Use of malaria drugs in COVID-19 carries higher mortality risk - study

  • A just-published study in the journal Lancet may dampen the enthusiasm for using chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients.
  • The results from a multinational registry analysis of more than 96K patients failed to show a treatment benefit when the meds were used alone or with antibiotic macrolide while their use was associated with a higher risk of death and increased frequency of ventricular arrhythmias.
  • Millions of doses of the drugs were made available from manufacturers in addition to 30M doses from the U.S. Strategic Stockpile.
  • Recently, President Trump declared that he was taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventative measure against possible infection.
  • At present, Gilead Sciences' remdesivir remains the only drug approved for emergency use in severely-ill COVID-19 patients.
  • Related tickers: Mylan (MYL -2.2%), Sanofi (SNY +0.1%), Teva (TEVA -0.9%), Novartis (NVS -0.8%), Amneal (AMRX -0.8%), Bayer (OTCPK:BAYRY -1.1%), Sun Pharma (OTCPK:SMPQY)
  • Update: In response to the study, the World Health Organization (WHO) has temporarily suspended its global study while it analyzes the data collected thus far to ensure that hydroxychloroquine is safe and the expected benefits outweigh the risks.
  • Update: On Friday, May 29, in response to criticism from doctors and researchers, the journal posted a correction stating that the study incorrectly reported the number of participants from Asia and Australia but the overall findings remain unchanged. Critics claimed that the study authors failed to adequately adjust their analysis for variables, such as side effects and doses of the malaria drugs.

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