Govt lifts export ban on hydroxychloroquine

New Delhi, Jun 19 (KNN) The government has lifted the export ban on anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine with immediate effect.

Centre had banned the export of this anti-malarial drug in March after it was touted as a possible treatment for coronavirus.

"The export policy of Hydroxychloroquine API (active pharmaceutical ingredients) and its formulations from prohibited to free with immediate effect," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification on Thursday.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had also recommended the use of hydroxychloroquine for treating healthcare workers handling suspected or confirmed coronavirus cases and also the asymptomatic household contacts of the lab-confirmed cases.

Two Indian firms, Ipca Laboratories and Zydus Cadila Ltd, are the world’s largest manufacturers of the drug.

The drug was seen as part of the preventive treatment regimen for COVID-19 after US President Donald Trump described it as a potential game changer in the fight against the pandemic.

India supplied paracetamol and hydroxychloroquine to over 120 countries in the last two months while ensuring the domestic supply, as these two medicines are in huge demand due to COVID-19.