Drug firm Bajaj Healthcare on Friday said it has received approval from the Gujarat Food and Drug Administration for manufacturing hydroxychloroquine sulphate active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and formulations.

The company will commence production of hydhroxychloroquine sulphate API in the next 3 weeks at its Vadodara facility and it is estimated to produce 15 Mts of API per month, Bajaj Healthcare said in a filing to the BSE.

It has started the production of hydroxychloroquine FDF (tablets) at Vadodara unit and is expected to produce around 1.5 crore hydroxychloroquine sulphate tablets, it added.

This is a very critical time in our fight against COVID-19. With our existing capabilities and our ability to fast-track production of hydroxychloroquine sulphate and its tablets, we are well-positioned to partially meet the prospective demand and will continue to do everything we can to support the healthcare needs of our fellow citizens and human race globally, Bajaj Healthcare CMD Sajankumar Bajaj said.

India manufactures 70 percent of the world's supply of hydroxychloroquine sulphate, the company said.