Revista de ciencias farmacéuticas y medicamentos emergentes

Is Hydroxychloroquine an effective drug against COVID-19?

Govindarajan Venkat Kumar*, Arjun Pandian, Venkadapathi Jeyanthi, Prabaharan Chandrasekaran

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020 and a pandemic on 11 March 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO). By 16 June 2020, COVID-19 has affected more than 7.82 million people worldwide and caused more than 432,000 deaths. The scientific community works relentlessly to invent vaccines, drugs and establish effective therapeutics for the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a wellknown antimalarial drug Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has recently received enormous attention and given an emergency use authorization from the FDA as of 3 April 2020. But, there are several concerns about the appropriate dosage and possible side effects of HCQ during COVID-19 treatment. Here we reviewed the HCQ mechanism of action against the virus and its clinical studies in COVID-19 therapy.