The FDA Withdraws Emergency Approval for the Malaria Drug Hydroxychloroquine

On Monday, June 15, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration removed the Emergency Authorization Use (EAU) of two malaria drugs to treat COVID-19, saying that they are “unlikely to be effective.”

Both hydroxychloroquine (brand name Plaquenil) and chloroquine were heavily promoted by President Trump after a handful of small, poorly controlled studies showed that they could work in treating the disease.

The FDA reported that further studies had shown that the two drugs were unlikely to be effective in stopping the virus, and that current national treatment guidelines do not recommend using them outside of clinical trials.

Hydroxychloroquine is a low-risk ototoxic drug. Please refer to this feature article for more information.