The NEW Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (GPC) is set to ramp up its manufacture of Chloroquine anti-malarial tablets, while noting that the drug has been cited as an effective treatment for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
In a press release issued on Thursday, the company stated that while there is no vaccine for the virus at this time and one is not expected for at least another year, Chloroquine has been cited as one of the drugs that have been an effective treatment for COVID-19, which has inflicted hundreds of thousands of people around the world. And according to the company, “the drug has tested favourably in the US, Italy, France, Japan and other European countries in the front line in battling the pandemic. Studies have shown that Chloroquine blocks the viral infection by increasing the endosomal ph needed for viral attachment.”
The NEW GPC stated that Chloroquine is a 70-year-old drug that is used to fight malaria and autoimmune diseases. It is safe to use and relatively cheap. The company says it is licensed to manufacture this product and has been doing so for many years. The drug requires a doctor’s prescription.
The release mentioned a report by Deputy Head of China National Center for Biotechnology Development, Sun Yanrong, where he states that “Chloroquine, an anti-malarial medication, was selected after several screening rounds of thousands of existing drugs. The studies evidenced ‘certain curative effect’ with ‘fairly good efficacy’ and patients treated demonstrated a better drop in fever, improvement of lung CT images, and required a shorter time to recover compared to parallel groups. No obvious serious adverse reactions were observed and reported in the more than 100 participants in the trials.”
The pharmaceutical company feels that its production of Chloroquine would give a boost “not only to the fight to control the effects of the COVID-19 virus, but also to give a boost to our local moribund economy.” It also disclosed that it has already received its first order from the Caribbean.
NEW GPC is the Caribbean’s largest manufacturer of pharmaceuticals. The Company manufactured anti-retrovirals to address the HIV/Aids pandemic and Tamiflu to treat the outbreak of bird flu. New GPC is USFDA approved and is licensed by the Government Analyst Food and Drug Department, the release added.
