BRIEF—Coronavirus woes see US FDA lift ban on Ipca plants in India

After a ban of nearly six years, the US Food and Drug Administration has lifted an import alert on Ipca Laboratories' two units in Madhya Pradesh (MP), India, to ensure the supply of chloroquine tablets, considered to be one of the possible treatments for the coronavirus infection.

The US FDA had imposed the ban on the company's Ratlam, MP plant in July 2014, where active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) of hydroxychloroquine sulphate and chloroquine phosphate are produced.

The US FDA has also allowed the import of hydroxychloroquine sulphate tablets produced at Ipca's formulations manufacturing unit situated at Indore special economic zone and Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh, and at Silvassa, Gujarat.