A drug produced by a Polish pharmaceutical company has turned out to be useful in the treatment of viral pneumonia caused by coronavirus infections, according to Polish health authorities.

For now, the drug, Arachin, will only be available in hospitals.

The Polish council responsible for recommending drugs for treatment of specific illnesses approved Arachin on March 13 for use on coronavirus patients nationwide. The drug is produced by Adamed Pharma.

The drug contains chloroquine (chloroquini phosphas), originally prescribed for treating malaria and rheumatic fever, which testing has shown is also useful for treating the coronavirus family of viruses.

The Polish health authorities said they made their decision to approve the drug based on clinical evidence.

The coronavirus outbreak has led Polish authorities to ban all foreigners from crossing the country’s borders, a drastic step meant to stop or dramatically slow the spread of the virus. The latest figures showing the country has 119 cases and three deaths.

The producer of Arachin has pledged to secure and make available necessary drug supplies as required by Polish health authorities.

It will not be available in pharmacies in order to ensure hospitals have adequete supplies.