Thanks for the info. I don’t guess there’s much more POTUS can do to counter the state restrictions other than informing the public about HCQ’s effectiveness and hoping that locals put pressure on their state governments. I assume/hope the FDA is conducting studies on its effectiveness as a COVID treatment. Hopefully results will be forthcoming.
Normally big pharma would push its prescription only product, one that shows safety and efficacy and a wide therapeutic window, to move the product to OTC. HCQ is, for the most part, a generic. So my guess is big pharma may not be pushing this conversion to OTC.
However, under emergency circumstances, would the FDA do so on its own initiative?
Also, would OTC exclusivity be something that big pharma (Sanofi, maker of Plaquenil brand HCQ) push if they had the data and a good societal need case. Surely they are crunching or have crunched the numbers on this approach.