A consignment of hydroxychloroquine from India arrived in the United States on Saturday, days after New Delhi lifted a ban on the export of the anti-malaria drug, seen as a possible cure for Covid-19, to the US and some other countries on humanitarian grounds.
Earlier this week, India at the request of President Donald Trump cleared the export of 35.82 lakh tablets of hydroxychloroquine to the US along with nine metric tons of active pharmaceutical ingredient or API required in the manufacturing of the drug.
“Supporting our partners in the fight against Covid-19. Consignment of hydroxychloroquine from India arrived at Newark airport today,” India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu tweeted.
Trump, during a phone call last week, asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lift the hold on American order of the anti-malarial drug, of which India is the major producer. India, which manufactures 70 per cent of the world’s supply of hydroxychloroquine, lifted the ban on April 7.
Hydroxychloroquine has been identified by the US Food and Drug Administration as a possible treatment for the Covid-19 and it is being tested on more than 1,500 coronavirus patients in New York.
Anticipating that it will work, given initial positive results, Trump has bought more than 29 million doses of hydroxychloroquine for the potential treatment of Covid-19 patients.
The arrival of the consignment was welcomed by Americans. “US will never forget this great humanitarian gesture by India. Under President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two largest democracies of the world have come together than ever in the past,” said New York-based Al Mason, a real estate consultant and a Trump supporter.
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