Clinical Trials Begin for Drugs That Might Help Treat Symptoms
There’s already a shortage of key drugs that might treat coronavirus symptoms and the FDA isn’t even sure if they work yet.
“What that means right now is that supply chain channels are depleted of both of these products,” Soumi Saha with Premier Inc. said.
Soumi Saha, with healthcare company Premier Inc., says demand among hospitals for the drugs hydroxy-chloroquin and chloroquine have gone up 300 and 3000 percent respectively. These same drugs are used to treat medical conditions like arthritis or lupus.
As hospitals order them in large quantities preparing for coronavirus patients, those who need them now may suffer.
“They may have some difficulty obtaining those drugs,” Saha said.
Saha says mass producing more of these drugs won’t be easy. The active pharmaceutical ingredients in them come from overseas.
