Retail sales of the drug President Trump has promoted and has been taking himself, to prevent and cure coronavirus have been escalating.
When Trump started mentioning its name many times during his briefings, the hydroxychloroquine became popular, after being around for decades.
Trump urged Americans to try it, even if no scientific nor medical approval came out.
From March 2019 to the same period of this year, and amid the attention the Hydroxychloroquine got, its sales doubled to more than $50 million, according to a market research firm IQVIA, specialized in tracking prescriptions dispensed by retail pharmacies including large chains and mail-order companies.
Recently, the FDA warned against the use of the drug to treat coronavirus patients outside of hospitals. The warning was released after more than 830,000 prescriptions for the drug were filled for the generic and name-brand version of the drug, Plaquenil, in March.
The data released by IQVIA didn't include April figures and prescriptions administered to patients in nursing homes through long-term care pharmacies or at hospitals. Another health care purchasing company, Premier Inc, showed that hospitals saw a 260% increase in hydroxychloroquine orders in March compared to normal demand.
