BENGALURU: People suffering from arthritis are running from one pharmacy to another trying to find stocks of hydroxychloroquine that treats malaria, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Though the country manufactures 70 per cent of the world’s supply of hydroxychloroquine and is the largest exporter, pharmacies in Bengaluru have no stock of the drug as demand has gone up after the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) approved restricted use of the drug for frontline health workers fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
Suvarna, who has lived with rheumatoid arthritis for 16 years, purchased the drug from her doctor’s clinic, but with OPD services shut due to the lockdown, she now has to buy them from pharmacies. “I usually purchase 30 200mg tablets, but I could get only six. People are buying it without prescriptions putting arthritis patients like me at risk,” she said.
While the government requires hydroxychloroquine for health workers as a prophylactic, sources said that the shortage is also because it is being sold over the counter. Dr Vijay KR Rao, rheumatologist and immunologist, Divisha Arthritis and Medical Center Bengaluru, said that his patients cannot find the drug at medical stores and cautioned people against taking the drug without prescription. “There are side-effects such as vomiting, giddiness and a one per cent chance of blindness,” he said.
A spokesperson epharmacy Medlife said, “We have already run out of stock. It is in short supply across markets and we are forced to disable it on our platform for the time being.” It is unclear when the drug will be available, even though the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance has maintained that India has sufficient production capacity which can be ramped up if required. But for now, people like Suvarna are in a limbo. “People are panic buying. We did not know this would happen,” a chemist said.