On Mar. 20, 2020, Amneal Pharmaceuticals, one of the largest U.S.-based generics manufacturers, announced that it is responding to the national COVID-19 health emergency by building on its existing supply of hydroxychloroquine sulfate.

Amneal is ramping up production of hydroxychloroquine sulfate at several of its manufacturing sites and expects to produce approximately 20 million tablets between now and mid-April. Those tablets will be made available nationwide through Amneal’s existing retail and wholesale customers, as well as through direct sales to larger institutions in need.

Hydroxychloroquine sulfate was first synthesized in 1946 and is in a class of medications historically used to treat and prevent malaria.  Amneal’s hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat malaria, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, childhood arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. Hydroxychloroquine is not approved for the treatment of COVID-19; however, it has been identified as a possible treatment for COVID-19,¹ and the U.S. government has requested its immediate availability.

Amneal has already begun shipping product. As a socially responsible company, Amneal will work to ensure its available inventory allocation is widely and evenly distributed to benefit the most patients possible.

Amneal has an extensive portfolio of more than 225 marketed commercial products and is expanding its portfolio to include complex dosage forms, including biosimilars, in a broad range of therapeutic areas. The Company also markets a portfolio of branded pharmaceutical products through its Specialty segment focused principally on central nervous system and endocrine disorders.