Hydroxychloroquine has been identified as a possible treatment for
COVID-19 Coronavirus and the large donation will go toward clinical trials and
patient treatment in Louisiana
BATON ROUGE, LA - Louisiana Attorney General Jeff
Landry, working with the assistance of State Senate Health and Welfare Chairman
Fred Mills, is announcing a major donation by Amneal Pharmaceuticals to help
respond to the COVID-19 health emergency. Amneal is donating 400,000
hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets to the State of Louisiana.
"On behalf of Louisiana, I want to thank Amneal for
this generous donation," said General Landry. "It is important we all
work together to help solve the COVID-19 Coronavirus crisis. We must come
together as Louisianans and as Americans. This donation from Amneal
demonstrates their strong effort to be a good corporate citizen in our
Nation."
"I wish to remind everyone of the importance of
social distancing guidelines issued by the President and state officials,"
continued General Landry. "Amneal's donation is one step toward trying to
find treatments and cures for this epidemic. Right now, there are no silver
bullets. We must remain vigilant against the spread of this virus." [***
Note video link to Attorney General Jeff Landry at bottom of release ***]
Senator Fred Mills added, "I commend Amneal for
working with Attorney General Jeff Landry and me in bringing forward this
remarkable donation to benefit citizens of Louisiana."
"All of us at Amneal are committed to supporting
our communities in the global fight against COVID-19," said Chirag and
Chintu Patel, Co-Chief Executive Officers of Amneal. "We are working with
urgency to assist the hardest hit states and hospitals around the country to
benefit as many patients as possible during this critical time."
The Louisiana State University School of Medicine is
working to launch two different clinical trials using hydroxychloroquine
in relation to COVID-19. One trial will utilize hydroxychloroquine on
those who have significant COVID-19 disease. The other trial protocol will use
and test the drug as a preventative measure for those healthcare workers on the
front lines battling the epidemic. Trials will be conducted at the University
Medical Center in New Orleans and at the LSU Medical School locations in Baton
Rouge and Lafayette.
"I sincerely appreciate the efforts of Attorney
General Jeff Landry and Senator Fred Mills working with Amneal to bring this
donation to the citizens of Louisiana," said Dr. Steve Nelson, Dean of
LSUHSC School of Medicine. "This donation will allow us to conduct clinical
trials examining how hydroxychloroquine may help clear the virus from the lungs
of infected patients and to potentially help shield healthcare workers who are
on the front lines treating patients."
The United States Government's National Institutes of
Health is tracking other similar clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine for
COVID-19. The University of Minnesota is undertaking a trial and Columbia
University is as well.
The hydroxychloroquine donation by Amneal comes at an
important time. The Louisiana Board of Pharmacy has noted serious concerns over
the availability of this drug and has issued specific guidance on the
dispensing of the drug, including its March 25th guidance noting that it should be dispensed for COVID-19
when the prescription bears a COVID-19 diagnosis.
The overall coordination of distribution will be done
by the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH). Attorney General Jeff Landry has
been assured by LDH that the entire State of Louisiana will benefit as doctors
throughout the State can request the medication to treat patients.
Amneal has donated millions of hydroxychloroquine
sulfate tablets in total to states other than Louisiana, including New York and
Texas, and stated they will provide more as needed. The company also announced
donations of products directly to hospitals across the country.
Hydroxychloroquine sulfate was first synthesized in 1946
and is in a class of medications historically used to treat and prevent
malaria. Today, Amneal's hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets are approved by the
United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat malaria, rheumatoid
arthritis, lupus, childhood arthritis, and other autoimmune
diseases. Hydroxychloroquine is not FDA-approved for the treatment of
COVID-19; but it has been identified as a possible treatment for COVID-19, and the U.S. Government has requested its
immediate availability.
Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - headquartered in Bridgewater, NJ - is a
fully-integrated pharmaceutical company focused on the development,
manufacturing, and distribution of generic and specialty drug products.