Ipca and Cadila Healthcare gear up to make drug for coronavirus

Hydroxychloroquine, a drug whose largest manufacturer is an Indian firm, has shot into the limelight after the US president advocated it as potential therapy for COVID-19.

Ipca is the biggest producer of the drug. Cadila Healthcare, based in Ahmedabad, too is a major player. Both are gearing up to meet the demand and have said there will be enough supplies.

On top of this, a combination hydroxychloroquine and azithro­mycin, a common antibiotic, is being considered.

Vadodara-based drug major Alembic is the domestic market leader with its brand Azithral, with an almost 30 per cent share.

Sources said the country’s apex health research body, the