After pledging to donate millions of hydroxychloroquine doses, Novartis readies trial to assess drug’s benefit for COVID-19

A month after committing to donate up to 130 million doses of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 trials, Novartis is starting its own trial to find out if the malaria drug actually works in patients infected with the virus.

Citing the importance of determining “whether hydroxychloroquine will be beneficial for patients with COVID-19 disease,” Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; SIX:NOVN) announced Monday its plans to start the 440-patient randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase III trial in the U.S. next month. Data are due at year-end, Novartis spokesperson Eric Althoff told BioCentury...