Bengal Chemicals gets license to produce hydroxychloroquine

Kolkata-based Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceutical Company on Friday received the license to produce hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug that is being touted as 'game changer' in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, a top company official said.

The Drug Controller General of India allows Bengal Chemical to produce 200mg and 400mg hydroxychloroquine tablets, company Managing Director PM Chandraiah said.

"We are ready to do the formulation without any profit as a gesture to fight covid-19," Chandraiah said.

The company can produce 10 lakh tablets a day and can ramp it up to 15 lakhs, he said.

"But, the question is raw material. The government has to arrange raw materials or active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). We have failed to arrange it from our end," Chandraiah said.

"We can start manufacturing in 2 days after receiving raw materials," another company official said.