NIH becomes latest agency to close the book on hydroxychloroquine

The hydroxychloroquine saga may finally be coming to an end.

Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration pulled its emergency use authorization for the drug, heavily touted by President Trump as a bulwark against the coronavirus. A couple of days later, the World Health Organization stopped its trial of the medication's effect on COVID-19 patients. Now, the National Institutes of Health have joined the consensus, halting its own clinical trial late Friday evening. NIH apparently agreed with the other agencies that the drug is "very unlikely" to benefit patients who require hospitalization.

Per Politico, this could be the drug's "death knell," at least in a certain respect. It's been around for decades and is approved to treat malaria, arthritis, and lupus, and doctors could still use it "off label" to treat coronavirus patients, but the end of the two major studies signal that scientists will focus elsewhere in the hopes of finding a breakthrough treatment for severely ill patients. Gilead's antiviral remdesivir and a cheap steroid called dexamethasone are promising contenders. Read more at Politico.

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