FDA Will Begin Testing Drug Used to Cure Malaria as Possible Treatment for Coronavirus

Donald Trump told reporters at his White House press conference Thursday that the FDA will soon undergo testing on a drug known as either chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine to see its effectiveness in treating coronavirus. It has previously been used to treat malaria and autoimmune diseases, per CNN. 

FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said Trump instructed them to take a closer look at the effectiveness of chloroquine on coronavirus patients since the drug has already been approved for use. “It’s been around for a long time so we know if things don’t go as planned it’s not going to kill anybody,” Trump said. “We have to remove every barrier or a lot of barriers that were unnecessary and they’ve done that to get the rapid deployment of safe, effective treatments and we think we have some good answers.” 

While Trump said that the drug will be made available “almost immediately” if it proves to be a viable treatment, Hahn downplayed his lofty expectations, stating that chloroquine will need to go through a clinical trial which should last “over the next couple of weeks” to try and determine the appropriate dosage depending on each patient’s circumstance. 

“We will collect that data and make the absolute right decisions based upon those data about the safety and efficacy of the treatments,” Hahn said. “What’s also important is not to provide false hope. We may have the right drug, but it might not be in the appropriate dosage form right now, and it might do more harm than good.”