Hydroxychloroquine belongs to the class of drugs called antimalarials. It was initially developed to prevent and treat malaria by eliminating the parasite causing the disease. It is also used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, discoid lupus erythematosus, and systemic lupus erythematosus due to its ability to modify the immune response.
In vitro, hydroxychloroquine was found to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection [1]. According to two open-label, non-randomized clinical trials conducted by French researchers, hydroxychloroquine in combination with azithromycin holds the potential for reducing viral load and accelerating recovery of COVID-19 patients [2, 3]. However, a Phase 3 clinical study conducted by Chinese researchers showed inconclusive results for hydroxychloroquine alone [4].
Hydroxychloroquine is being tested as part of REMAP-CAP, a Phase 4 multi-center, adaptive, randomized trial of the safety and efficacy of multiple treatments for COVID-19, community-acquired pneumonia and influenza in adults [5]. Primary study results should be published in December 2021, and full study results should be published in June 2022.
References
- Liu, J., Cao, R., Xu, M., Wang, X., Zhang, H., Hu, H., … & Wang, M. (2020). Hydroxychloroquine, a less toxic derivative of chloroquine, is effective in inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro. Cell Discovery, 6(1), 1-4.
- Gautret, P., Lagier, J. C., Parola, P., Meddeb, L., Mailhe, M., Doudier, B., … & Honoré, S. (2020). Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as a treatment of COVID-19: results of an open-label non-randomized clinical trial. International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, 105949.
- Gautret, P., Lagier J-C., Parola P., Hoang V.T., … & Raoult D., (2020) Clinical and microbiological effect of a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in 80 COVID-19 patients with at least a six-day follow up: an observational study. IHU Méditerranée Infection.
- Efficacy and Safety of Hydroxychloroquine for Treatment of Pneumonia Caused by 2019-nCoV ( HC-nCoV )
- Randomized, Embedded, Multifactorial Adaptive Platform Trial for Community- Acquired Pneumonia (REMAP-CAP)
Websites