Novartis to donate malaria drug in fight against coronavirus

Novartis is donating up to 130 million doses of malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to be used in the fight against the new coronavirus, the Swiss company said on Friday.

There are no vaccines or treatments approved for the disease, but researchers are studying existing treatments including hydroxychloroquine for treating COVID-19.

The novel coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 disease, emerged in Wuhan, China, last December and has spread to at least 163 countries and territories. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a pandemic.

Out of more than 246,000 confirmed cases, the death toll now exceeds 10,000 and over 86,000 have recovered, according to data compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

Despite the rising number of cases, most who become infected suffer only mild symptoms and recover.