India bans export of recommended Coronavirus prophylactic Hydroxychloroquine; uses here

In a significant move, India on Wednesday has banned the export of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-Malarial that is believed to work as a prophylactic medication for Coronavirus in case of high-risk persons. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry notified that the export of medication and the composition ingredients used for its manufacturing have been banned with immediate effect to ensure sufficient availability of the medicine in the domestic market.

In a notification issued on Wednesday, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), an arm of the commerce ministry which deals with export and import-related matters, said, "The export of hydroxychloroquine and formulations made from hydroxychloroquine is prohibited with immediate effect".

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See the order here: 

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This move of the government comes after the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director-General Balram Bhargava had on Monday recommended the use of hydroxychloroquine for treating healthcare workers handling suspected or confirmed coronavirus cases and also the asymptomatic household contacts of the lab-confirmed cases. The treatment protocol recommended by the ICMR-constituted National Task Force for Covid-19 has been approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) for restricted use in emergency situations.

Here's what the ICMR says about Hydroxy-Chloroquine:

Export allowed on humanitarian grounds

It, however, said the government will allow export of the medicine on humanitarian grounds on a case-to-case basis on the Ministry of External Affairs' recommendation. The export will also be permitted from the special economic zones/export-oriented units and in cases where the outbound shipment is made to fulfill an export obligation under any advance authorization license issued on or before the date of this notification, which is March 25, 2020.

It added, "Export will be allowed in case of shipments where the irrevocable letter of credit has been issued before the date of this notification or in the case where full advance payment has been received by the exporter in India against the specific shipment, subject to the submission of documentary evidence."

As per reports, recently the FDA also freed India's IPCA from import ban so that it can ship unproven COVID-19 treatments. The FDA in 2015 banned products from three IPCA manufacturing facilities.

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(with PTI inputs)