by Cassidy Morrison | March 19, 2020
President Trump announced Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration would soon introduce new coronavirus therapies.
Trump announced that the FDA is “slashing all of the red tape” to get medicines on the market “as fast as we can get it.” Anti-viral therapies are still in early clinical trials, but the Trump administration is aiming to speed up the process.
“What the FDA is doing is incredible,” Trump said. “I’ve directed the FDA to eliminate outdated rules and bureaucracy. … We have to remove every barrier.”
The FDA is considering a drug used to treat malaria called Chloroquine, which researchers think could prove an effective treatment for the coronavirus. Trump said it has “tremendous promise based on results and other tests.” Another drug that could be used to treat the coronavirus is Remdesivir, an antiviral made by Gilead, the manufacturer behind PrEP drugs to prevent HIV infection.
