Officials at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences have welcomed delivery of 100,000 doses of hydroxychloroquine, but they're not promoting it as a potential cure for the coronavirus.
Instead, they're portraying it as a godsend for Arkansans with certain autoimmune disorders.
A New Jersey company, Amneal Pharmaceuticals, provided box loads of the tablets to UAMS this week.
The shipment's retail value is perhaps $200,000, one UAMS official said Wednesday during a news conference at the state Capitol.
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In some places, hydroxychloroquine has been in short supply since President Donald Trump began touting it as a possible coronavirus treatment.
The antimalarial drug is effective in treating lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, clinical trials have shown.
"It's too soon to tell" whether it can counteract the coronavirus, UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson said Wednesday.
In some instances, however, the drug can have deadly effects, Patterson said.
"I'm a doctor. Specifically, I'm a cardiologist. And this is not a drug that is without side effects," he said.
Like a lot of medications, hydroxychloroquine affects some patients adversely.
"The side effect that we're most concerned about causes a change in the conduction system, the electrical system, of the heart and can lead to fatal arrhythmia, so it's not a drug without side effects," Patterson said. "It's not a drug to be taken without reason. We would caution everyone that they shouldn't take this without the guidance of a physician who would care for monitoring."
For many patients with autoimmune disorders, however, the benefits are undeniable.
"There are individuals for whom this is really a game changer, in terms of their disease progression," Patterson said.
Patterson portrayed potential shortages of hydroxychloroquine, spawned by coronavirus fears, as a source of anxiety.
"I think very clearly that there's concerns that patients who've been on this drug for years and require it to be healthy and to be symptom-free from autoimmune conditions are having difficulty getting access to the medication," he said.
At a subsequent coronavirus briefing Wednesday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson emphasized that the state was given flexibility in how it uses the pills.
"That drug goes for multiple different purposes," he said. "Anytime that UAMS can receive a gift like that, that's a good thing."
If Arkansas doctors use some of the pills to treat covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, state Health Secretary Nate Smith said he hopes there'll be a protocol in place to gather the data.
With hydroxychloroquine and another medication, he said, "We know their adverse effects pretty well. What we don't really know is how much benefit -- or if there is benefit -- in treating patients with covid-19."
Last week, the American College of Rheumatology, the Arkansas Rheumatology Association and others sent a letter asking Hutchinson to "make every effort to ensure an adequate supply of [hydroxychloroquine] for all patients who need it," noting the drug is "critical to many rheumatology patients."
Shortly after receiving a copy of the letter, Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin was contacted by an Amneal Pharmaceuticals representative, who offered to provide the pills free of charge.
"We're very grateful to Lt. Gov. Griffin for his foresight and to Amneal Pharmaceuticals for their generosity in making this incredible donation possible," Patterson said.
UAMS will distribute the pills to health care providers across the Natural State.
With 100,000 more doses of hydroxychloroquine in the stockpile, these Arkansans "shouldn't have difficulty getting [the] game-changing drug," Patterson said.
Metro on 04/09/2020