There is no vaccine against the corona virus yet, but several drugs have been highlighted as potential tools to fight the virus. One of them is the drug chloroquine phosphate that has been used for over fifty years to prevent malaria, but which can also have antiviral effects.

Chloroquine phosphate has now been used to fight the coronavirus in patients at both Södersjukhuset in Stockholm and Karolinska hospital in Huddinge, where many severely coronary patients are treated. In Huddinge, the drug has been used for a while, while the Southern Hospital began its trials on Friday. The drug is already used in many places in Europe.

Is considered to be risk-free - but weak evidence of the effect so far

Since the drug has been used on humans for decades, it is considered relatively risk-free to use - but there is still no reliable data to show that it actually works, according to the Swedish Medicines Agency.

"It's a chance that you do because you have nothing proven effective to increase, and the safety profile is such that the chance does not appear to pose any serious risks," says Filip Josephson, physician and investigator at the Swedish Medicines Agency.

- There is a publication from China that says chloroquine is very good, but we have not been able to find any publications where data supporting this claim is presented. No one seems to have seen this data. To sum up, one can say that the idea is speculative - there is no evidence for it, says Filip Josephson.

“Working out large volumes very quickly will cost some”

In Sweden, chloroquine phosphate is produced by the company Recipharm, which in recent weeks has seen more than ten times sales - but from a low level. According to Carl-Johan Spak, who is responsible for strategic investments at Recipharm, several authorities have inquired about the company's delivery options.

- It is important to emphasize that this can be a fantastic opportunity, but it must be handled properly. It is not self-care it is about but doctors should give it to the right patients. But working out large volumes very quickly will cost some and require good cooperation with the authorities to make this possible, and I think we have that, says Carl-Johan Spak.