COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Board of Pharmacy is holding off on a new rule generally banning hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine as a coronavirus treatment, heeding a request from Gov. Mike DeWine.
The Food and Drug Administration has cautioned against use of the drug outside a hospital setting or clinical trial, due to the risk of heart rhythm problems.
A pharmacy board statement said the decision was “a result of the feedback received by the medical and patient community and at the request of Governor DeWine.”
“This will allow the Board to reexamine the issue with the assistance of the State Medical Board of Ohio, clinical experts, and other stakeholders to determine appropriate next steps,” the statement said.
DeWine said in a statement earlier Thursday that he agreed with FDA Commissioner Dr. Steven Hahn that the decision about the prescription should be between a doctor and patient.
“The Board of Pharmacy and the State Medical Board of Ohio should revisit the issue, listen to the best medical science, and open the process up for comment and testimony from experts,” DeWine said.
Early research, which is now questioned, showed promise for the medicine -- normally prescribed for malaria and lupus. World Health Organization and U.K. researchers ended trials for the drug, after data showed it gave patients no benefits for COVID-19 in June.
But President Donald Trump has used it and recently has embraced the views of a fringe Houston pediatrician who says the medicine can help with coronavirus.
On Thursday, NBC’s the “Today” show asked Hahn, who leads the FDA, whether people should take hydroxychloroquine for COVID.
“The question you’re asking me is a decision between a doctor and a patient,” he said.
DeWine said at his briefing Thursday he was glad the pharmacy board reversed course, saying the decision making process was flawed and didn’t include enough public input.
“We have not seen a complete and thorough examination of the facts,” he said.
DeWine said he was not taking a position one way or another on the drug.
“I’m not a doctor, I’m not a scientist. I’m the governor,” he said.
On July 19, the Ohio Department of Health said it was trying to get rid of 4 million hydroxychloroquine pills it had obtained for the pandemic.
The pharmacy board’s rule, which was to take effect Thursday, wouldn’t allow hydroxychloroquine to be sold in Ohio as a treatment for the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Under the rule, pharmacies wouldn’t have been able to sell or dispense hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for COVID-19 treatment -- unless approved by the board’s executive director. The rule also voided all previous approvals of the drug.
The new rule didn’t apply to prescriptions issued as part of a board-approved clinical trial to evaluate drugs to treat COVID-19.
On Thursday afternoon, a spokeswoman with the State Medical Board of Ohio said since the organization’s role is to support doctors, the group looks forward to working with the pharmacy board on the issue.
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