COVID-19: WHO Expects Anti-malarial Drug Hydroxychloroquine Safety Findings By Mid-June

"A final decision on the harm, benefit or lack of benefit of hydroxychloroquine will be made once the evidence has been reviewed by the Data Safety Monitoring Board," the body said in a statement. "It is expected by mid-June."

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said that it will carry out a swift review of data on anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine by mid-June after the global health body prohibited the use of HCQ in a trial on the treatment of coronavirus COVID-19 patients due to safety concerns.

United States President Donald Trump had called the HCQ a 'game-changer' drug in the treatment of coronavirus but the WHO on May 25 said that it will not use the drug in its multi-country trial on account of safety issues.

"A final decision on the harm, benefit or lack of benefit of hydroxychloroquine will be made once the evidence has been reviewed by the Data Safety Monitoring Board," the body said in a statement. "It is expected by mid-June."

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that the testing of hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 patients was called off due to safety concerns.

"The executive group has implemented a temporary pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm within the Solidarity trial while the safety data is reviewed by the data safety monitoring board," Tedros told an online briefing.

According to Dr. Mike Ryan, head of the WHO emergencies programme, the decision to pause trials of hydroxychloroquine had been taken out of "an abundance of caution".