On 14 April, India has permitted for Malaysia to import 89,100 tablets, Malaysia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kamarudin Jaffar told Reuters on Wednesday.
India has agreed to sell hydroxychloroquine tablets to Malaysia for use in the treatment of COVID-19 patients with New Delhi partially lifting its bar on exports of the anti-malarial drug reported Reuters.
India is the world’s largest producer of hydroxychloroquine, sales of which have soared across the world including in the United States, especially after President Donald Trump touted it as a potential weapon against COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
New Delhi had last month put a hold on exports of hydroxychloroquine to secure supplies for itself, before agreeing this month to supply it to some of its neighbours as well as “nations who have been particularly badly affected by the pandemic”.
Malaysia has been using hydroxychloroquine for mild to severe COVID-19 cases along with other drugs, according to its treatment protocol seen by Reuters.
It has the second-highest number of infections of COVID-19 in Southeast Asia with nearly 5,000 cases, 82 of whom have died.
Malaysia had asked for more than one million hydroxychloroquine tablets from India, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak with the media.
