Hospital demand for hydroxycholoroquine to treat Covid-19 patients is waning
The ongoing uncertainty over whether hydroxycholoroquine can successfully treat Covid-19 appears to have eroded demand considerably among hospitals, according to new data. At the same time, anecdotal evidence suggests that patients with lupus, a condition for which the drug is approved to treat, are having an easier time filling prescriptions for the first time in weeks.
From the week ending April 17 to the week ending April 24, demand plunged 62% among hospitals placing orders for the decades-old malaria drug. The number of tablets sought fell to 198,500 from 462,850 between those dates, according to Vizient, a group purchasing organization that negotiates contracts for medicines on behalf of about 3,000 hospitals and health care facilities in the U.S.
