Case Grows For Bayer's Old Anti-Malarial To Treat COVID-19

German Major Advises Caution Over Chloroquine

Bayer's anti-malaria therapy chloroquine is being touted as a cheap, safe and effective drug for coronavirus. However the company's product is only made in Pakistan and a variety of import and export agreements need to be in place for other countries to get hold of it.

Chloroquine Phosphate
Anti-malarial could help tackle coronavirus • Source: Shutterstock

With researchers around the world scrambling to find a way to tackle coronavirus using existing drugs, Bayer AG's 70-year-old antimalarial chloroquine has emerged as one of the most promising candidates but there are logistical issues that need to be overcome to getting hold of it.

There have been reports this week that Bayer is about to make a large amount of chloroquine to the US government for potential use, with the American news website, Axios, saying that its tip off came from "a senior US Health and Human Services official and another source with direct knowledge

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