Much is being discussed and talked about these days about hydroxychloroquine, the wonder drug for malaria, which on one hand is being considered by many these days as a ray of hope for treatment of COVID-19, while there are still others who like to take it more casually identifying it as the ‘Trump drug’. The reason why many are finding it synonymous with Mr. Trump is also well known.
It was he who declared the drug to be a cure for the deadly menace that is raising havoc across the globe, ahead of approval from his own Food and Drug Administration (US FDA). Not only so, Mr. Trump also went on to pressurize the Indian government to allow export of his ‘holy grail’ to salvage his globally debilitating image, with the world’s most powerful nation being rendered helpless by an enemy that is invisible to human eyes.
Whether hydroxychloroquine is ultimately going to bring in change to this catastrophe can only be confirmed with time as we gather more experience with the drug now being used for treating COVID-19 patients across the globe.
However while we are continuously being bombarded with new and at times frightful information regarding SARS CoV-2 and COVID-19, unlike at other times, my purpose today is totally different. I would like to share the story or rather stories related to hydroxychloroquine and take you to a time travel in history showing how the drug links to the Indian sub-continent and Bengal in particular.
It was 1799 - Tipu Sultan was just defeated by the British. The British were rejoicing the fall of Tipu’s Mysore kingdom at the fallen capital Srirangapatnam. However the celebration was short lived, as many of them started to become sick with malaria. The tiny mosquitos of Srirangapatnam was winning over the mighty British! The local Indian population was spared since they had developed immunity to malaria over the centuries.
The British being suddenly exposed were unable to bear the brunt. They quickly established the Bangalore Cantonment Region and shifted the capital to Bangalore. Although the soldiers and officers were loving the cooler climate of Bangalore, this new capital was also no exception as long as mosquitos were concerned.
Around the same time the wonder drug quinine was discovered and was gaining popularity as a cure for malaria. However it was still not clear whether quinine could truly get rid of the deadly disease. The British saw this as a great opportunity. Quinine was imported to India in large quantities and distributed among the British servicemen not only stationed in Bangalore, but across the British Raaj. They were encouraged to take the medicine even in good health in an attempt to develop immunity to malaria.
The results were mixed. Although many who were down with malaria recovered quickly, the number of new patients remained steady. The British then discovered that it was the “bitter” taste of quinine that was the reason behind. Many soldiers opted not to take the bitter medicine just because of it’s awful taste. This prompted extensive research and eventually it was discovered that mixing quinine with a liquor produced from juniper dramatically transformed the bitter quinine into something soothingly sweet.
This juniper based liquor was nothing other than gin. This mixture of gin with quinine quickly gained popularity among the British servicemen in India as “gin and tonic”, so much so that the British Army started issuing bottles of gin and bottles of tonic water (quinine) with the monthly ration of the soldiers, which they would mix themselves and consume. This cocktail became extremely popular in India as “tonic”. In fact it has become synonymous with any syrup that is used to treat fever or any infection even in today’s India.
The British East India Company soon realized the business potentials of “gin and tonic” and established several breweries in and around Bangalore to produce the wonder drink, which was then sent and sold across India. Bangalore became known as the “pub capital of India” long back during the British time.
After the liberation of India, many of these were taken over by the business tycoon and father of Mr. Vijay Mallya, Mr. Vittal Mallya, who eventually led a consortium of breweries under the group name United Breweries, with it’s head quarters in Bangalore.
Today’s much talked about hydroxychloroquine is a derivative of quinine. This had long remained the standard of care for malaria. However the story does not end here. Prafulla Chandra College is a well known, educational institution in southern Bagerhat district of Bangladesh.
The college has seen many successful students who have established themselves in different walks of life. The college was founded by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy. Acharya was born to a reputed zaminder family of today’s Paikgacha upozilla under Jashore district of Bangladesh. He founded this college in 1918.
Acharya was born on 2 August 1861.His grandfather was also a dewan. In his early age he suffered from dysentery that halted his education temporarily. Although he got admitted in Hare School, he could not continue. After recovery he went back to studies first to Albert School and then to Presidency College in Kolkata, where he studied Chemistry.
Acharya then went to Edinburgh University to obtain PhD, where he received the prestigious ‘Hope Award’ for his basic research on conjugated sulphates of the copper-magnesium group. He contributed 150 original articles and couple of books on Chemistry and more importantly discovered mercurous nitrate in 1896. A true nationalist, Acharya was dead against the caste system and championed local tanary, enamel and khadi industries. He was instrumental in the relief operations during the Bengal floods of 1920.
Despite all these achievements Acharya will be remembered for a totally different reason. He founded Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, the first pharmaceutical industry in India in 1901 with mere Rs 700. No wonder why Acharya is duly referred to as the “Father of Indian Chemistry”.
Want to know why suddenly bring in Acharya here from the middle of no where? India now produces 70% of the world’s hydroxychloroquine and Acharya’s Bengal Chemicals is still one of the leading producers of this drug in the world! Thanks to Acharya, India can now produce 40 tons of the drug in just 30 days, which is sufficient to produce 20,00,00,000 hydroxychloroquine tablets of 200 mg each. This is sufficient to meet the demand of all the COVID-19 effected countries of the world and off course that does not exclude India.
This is how a simple visit to the history of a drug called hydroxychloroquine takes us back down the paths of the history of British India and at the same time relates to the contributions of a Bengali scholar of more than a hundred years back, which is showing rays of hope to the world today and giving us another reason to be proud as Bengalis.
Professor Dr. Mamun Al Mahtab (Shwapnil) is a Chairman, Department of Hepatology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, & Member Secretary, Sampritee Bangladesh
