NEW DELHI: With the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths rising across the country, the government has taken steps to restrict the sale and distribution of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine and anti-HIV combination drug lopinavir and ritonavir that, according to anecdotal evidence, can be re-purposed to treat the disease.
In a notification late Thursday, the health ministry marked anti-malarial medicine hydroxychloroquine as a Schedule H1 drug to restrict its sale and distribution to prevent misuse.
The notification by the health ministry followed another by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority dated Wednesday which directed manufacturers of the fixed drug combination of lopinavir and ritonavir to maintain a stock level of at