The Oklahoma attorney general’s office said it will attempt to return a $2 million stockpile worth of hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial drug once described by former President Donald Trump as a potential treatment for COVID-19, a spokesman said Wednesday.
The stockpile of 1.2 million hydroxychloroquine pills was sent to Oklahoma in April from a supplier in California, FFF Enterprises, a private pharmaceutical company, the Frontier reported.
“We are working with the department of health to try to return the stockpile,” Oklahoma Office of the Attorney General spokesman Alex Gerszewski told the Associated Press.
The office was responding to a request from the Oklahoma State Department of Health, the agency that authorized the purchase in 2020, Gerszewski added.
A spokesperson for FFF Enterprises did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
It is unclear what percentage of the initial investment the state could regain if the return is accepted.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reversed its emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in June, citing studies the drug commonly used to treat malaria lacked evidence to show it is safe and effective to treat the COVID-19 virus.
Gov. Kevin Stitt faced criticism in 2020 for purchasing the stockpile of hydroxychloroquine but defended it at the time as an exercise of caution, similar to securing personal protective equipment and other supplies to stave off the pandemic, according to the Frontier.
Gov. Gary Herbert of Utah also faced backlash for spending $800,000 on pills that reportedly never arrived, CBS affiliate KUTV reported.
The Oklahoma governor’s motion to purchase the drug came in early April, just days after Trump began discussing the treatment during White House press conferences.
“Every decision the Governor makes is with the health and lives of Oklahomans in mind, including purchasing hydroxychloroquine, securing [personal protective equipment] PPE, and now distributing vaccines as quickly and efficiently as possible to combat this COVID crisis,” said Carly Atchison, spokeswoman for Stitt.
The nation’s leading infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci, has said there is no definitive medical evidence to prove the anti-malarial drug is an effective treatment against COVID-19.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Oklahoma Office of the Attorney General but did not immediately receive a response.
