Coronavirus update: Lincoln Pharmaceuticals gets nod to manufacture hydroxychloroquine tablets

Lincoln Pharmaceuticals on Monday said that it has received an approval to manufacture hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) along with other critical drugs to fight coronavirus. The nod was given by Food & Drug Control Administration, Gujarat to manufacture varied doses of hydroxychloroquine and hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets among others at its plant in Khatraj in Ahmedabad, Lincoln Pharmaceuticals said in an exchange filing. The company can now manufacture hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets USP in 200 MG, 300 MG and 400 MG doses and hydroxychloroquine tablets IP in 200 MG, 300 MG and 400 MG doses, respectively from Lincoln Pharma's Khatraj facility, it added.

The company will also be exporting these products after necessary approval from Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). "We have all the necessary infrastructure at our state-of -the-art manufacturing facility at Khatraj, Ahmedabad and look to expedite the commercial production of the approved drugs at the earliest. Company is committed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and working closely with the governments and relevant stakeholders to ensure uninterrupted supply of medicines. Company has also constituted a task force to handle the distribution of medicines and essential drugs with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation by COVID-19," Mahendra Patel, Managing Director, Lincoln Pharmaceuticals, said.

The shares of Lincoln Pharmaceuticals were trading at Rs 152.80, up 7.25 points, or 4.98 per cent on NSE at the time of reporting. Meanwhile, HCQ is primarily an anti-malarial drug. It is mostly used globally to treat some immunological diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Indian drug formulators export 80-85 per cent of the production to almost all parts of the world. Other leading manufacturers of HCQ include Intas Pharmaceuticals, McW Healthcare of Indore, Macleods Pharmaceuticals, Cipla and Lupin. API suppliers for the drug include Abbott India, Rusan Pharma, Mangalam Drugs, Unichem Remedies, Laurus Labs, Vijayasri Organics, among others. However, HCQ's strong antiviral effect on a few coronavirus infection had earlier prompted US President Donald Trump and some other countries  to seek India's help in procuring the drug.