One of the world’s biggest makers of hydroxychloroquine has accused Chinese factories of price gouging it on important ingredients for an antimalarial drug promoted by US president Donald Trump as a potential coronavirus cure.
India is the largest producer of hydroxychloroquine, a drug that Mr Trump has described as a “game changer” in the hunt for a Covid-19 treatment, even though experts within his own administration have warned that its efficacy is unproven and it is potentially dangerous. The country relies on raw materials from China to produce the finished drug.
Governments including those in the US and Brazil have lined up to purchase hydroxychloroquine from Indian companies, which are also under pressure from New Delhi to supply the drug to frontline health workers. Surging demand has pushed up prices across the supply chain.