This Hungarian city will produce the medicine easing the symptoms of the coronavirus

The Alkaloida Ltd. in the Eastern-Hungarian city of Tiszavasvári is only waiting for the permission of the authorities. If that arrives, they can start the mass production of a medicine easing the symptoms of the virus. This pill is being made for Hungarian patients in the first place, and exporting its active substance is forbidden by the government.

László Pallos, the purchasing director of the company, said that their aim is not to sell the active agent but to provide pills, Világgazdaság wrote.  He added that Alkaloida Ltd. can make the 200 mg Hydroxychloroquine pills because it has already been registered in the United States, and it has been exporting there for a couple of years. However, it does not have permission to sell in Hungary, so the authorities and the company are working day and night to do it as soon as possible.

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If the company uses the whole amount of the active agent, they can produce 20 million 200-mg pills, which is enough for more than 2.2 million patients. Mr Pallos added that they can make 900 thousand pills each day. Based on current data, 50 pills are needed for the treatment of one patient. 

Authorities said that there are no clinical measures in Hungary yet regarding this medicine. However, a government decree simplified the utilisation of those drugs that have been used before for other purposes in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, even though

Hungary is the biggest exporter of the Hydroxychloroquine-sulfate

(the salt form of the Hydroxychloroquine in which it is sold), the government forbade its export for the next 6 months.

The government is giving 2.3 billion HUF (EUR 6.3 million) for research projects targeting the defence against the coronavirus epidemic in Hungary. PM Viktor Orbán and László Palkovics, the Minister for Innovation and Technology, had a video conference this week with the leaders of the research groups about the progress they have already made. Orbán said that the epidemic would last long, and the hardest times are yet to come. Since there are no vaccines, we need every possible medicine that eases the symptoms of the disease. Many types of such medicines are being tested in Hungary.

Source: vg.hu