Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure a robust supply of hydroxychloroquine to patients reliant on that medication to manage (a) lupus, (b) scleroderma, (c) rheumatoid arthritis and (d) other serious autoimmune rheumatic conditions during the covid-19 pandemic.
The Department is working closely with industry, the National Health Service and others in the supply chain to help ensure patients can access the medicines they need, including hydroxychloroquine, and precautions are in place to reduce the likelihood of future shortages.
Clinical trials are being established to test hydroxychloroquine as an agent in the treatment of COVID-19. There are centrally held supplies of hydroxychloroquine for those clinical trials. Separate supplies of hydroxychloroquine for patients that are already using the medicine for its licensed indications can be accessed through usual routes. In addition, there is an export ban in place to protect United Kingdom stocks of hydroxychloroquine that is intended for UK patients.