While the World Health Organization (WHO) has suspended all its ongoing studies on the effectiveness of chloroquine in the treatment of Covid-19, the United States Medicines Agency has revoked its emergency use authorization , considering it ineffective and potentially dangerous.
- The United States Medicines Agency revoked the emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine on June 15
- The benefits don’t outweigh the potential risks, she says.
- Donald Trump promoted the use of these molecules in the treatment of Covid-19 from the start of the pandemic
The craze was short-lived: authorized on the American market as an emergency on March 28 to treat the symptoms of Covid-19, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are no longer recommended. The FDA, the United States Medicines Agency revoked their emergency use authorization on June 15, citing probable ineffectiveness and even a high risk to cardiovascular health in some cases.
The benefits do not outweigh the risks
“It is no longer reasonable to believe that hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are effective in the treatment of Covid 19writes the FDA in a communicated. Additionally, in view of the serious adverse cardiovascular effects and other possible side effects, the benefits of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine no longer outweigh the known and potential risks..”
This decision follows the results of a large randomized clinical trial in hospitalized patients, who were precisely concerned by this emergency authorization, which showed “no benefit on mortality or faster recovery”. More than 400 reports of adverse side effects have reached the FDA, of which about 100 involved serious cardiac complications, 25 of which resulted in death.
“Although additional clinical trials continue to evaluate the potential benefits of these drugs in the treatment or prevention of Covid-19, we have determined that emergency use authorization is no longer appropriate.”concludes the drug agency, recalling that these molecules retain their marketing authorization to treat malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
Donald Trump, great promoter of chloroquine
The FDA is therefore going against the hopes of Donald Trump, a great promoter of chloroquine since the start of the health crisis, who had recently announced that he was taking it himself daily as a preventive measure. “There is a good chance that treatment can have a huge influence. It would be a godsend”he said in May as the FDA alerted in late April that there was no evidence that this molecule is “safe or effective for the treatment and prevention of Covid-19” and that she could engender “serious heart rhythm problems” and a “risk of ventricular tachycardia”.
This antimalarial is still arousing debate within the scientific community following the statements of Professor Didier Raoult, who believed at the start of the pandemic that it was effective in the treatment of a Covid infection. Numerous studies have therefore been carried out on the presumed effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, but none have been able to conclude positively. On the other hand, the scientific data are clear: taking this molecule could cause harmful side effects.
.
