Lincoln Pharma gets Gujarat food & drug regulator nod to manufacture COVID-19 drugs

New Delhi, Apr 27 () Lincoln Pharmaceuticals on Monday said it has received approval from the Gujarat Food and Drug Control Administration to manufacture hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) among other critical drugs to treat COVID-19, at its Khatraj facility in Ahmedabad.

The company has received approval from the state regulator to manufacture varied dosages of HCQ tablets and HCQ sulfate tablets among others at Khatraj plant, Lincoln Pharma said in a statement.

After necessary approval from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the company will be able to export these products, it added.

The approval by the state regulator is to manufacture both the drugs in the strengths of 200 mg, 300 mg and 400 mg, the statement said.

"We have all the necessary infrastructure at our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Khatraj, Ahmedabad and look to expedite the commercial production of the approved drugs at the earliest," Lincoln Pharmaceuticals MD Mahendra Patel said.

The company is committed to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and working closely with governments and relevant stakeholders to ensure uninterrupted supply of medicines, he added.

India is the largest producer of HCQ and taking a lead in supplying it to the world in this time of crisis, the statement said.

Shares of Lincoln Pharmaceuticals were trading up 4.98 per cent at Rs 152.70 per scrip on the BSE. AKT ANUANU