Drug Touted by Trump Rejected for Covid Patients in France

(Bloomberg) --

Hydroxychloroquine, the old malaria medicine touted as a treatment for Covid-19, can no longer be used to treat the new coronavirus in France amid growing evidence that it can cause more harm than good.

The ruling by a government advisory body means French hospitals will no longer be able to prescribe the drug to Covid-19 patients, although it can remain in use for ailments such as malaria and lupus. The decision marks the latest blow to hydroxychloroquine’s credibility as a coronavirus cure after an observational study last week pointed to a lack of benefits and an increased risk of death.

One of the drug’s foremost champions is French doctor Didier Raoult, who authored an early study on its purported benefits for coronavirus patients and vowed to keep using it before the ruling was made public on Wednesday. Hydroxychloroquine shot to fame in March thanks to Raoult’s work and a dearth of alternatives to curb the pandemic, winning endorsements from U.S. President Donald Trump.

The French government advisory body reviewed the latest data available, including the study published in The Lancet last week, and recommended against using hydroxychloroquine, alone or in combination, to treat Covid-19.

Scientists have also stopped including the medicine in two major studies. The World Health Organization paused one arm of a multi-pronged clinical trial called Solidarity out of caution and said a safety-monitoring board would make a decision on “the harm, benefit or lack of benefit” of the drug by mid-June.

Although hydroxychloroquine and a similar drug, chloroquine, “are already licensed products for treating other diseases, at this stage these drugs have not been found to be effective in the treatment of Covid-19,” the WHO says on its website. “In fact, warnings have been issued by many national authorities on the side effects of the drugs and their use has been limited in many countries to clinical trials under strict supervision in hospital settings.”

Hydroxychloroquine’s benefit-to-risk ratio will be re-evaluated if new findings come to light, France’s health ministry said in an emailed statement.

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