Prices for an additive used to clean fish tanks have skyrocketed after studies found the pharmaceutical drug version of it may treat the coronavirus, a report said.
Chloroquine phosphate is used to in aquariums to kill some organisms, like algae, that may harm fish.
Sellers on eBay and other websites hiked prices in March, and buyers were willing to shell out large amounts of cash for the substance, Storyful found. The listings indicated that the product wasn’t meant for human consumption.
Between Feb. 25 and March 2, the price paid for a single 25-gram bottle of chloroquine phosphate rose from $9.99 to over $500.
On March 18, eBay’s tracking indicated that one seller had sold 84 lots of the substance in 24 hours. By that afternoon, all sizes were sold out save for 100 gram lots, which were being listed for $519 each.
The anti-malarial drug chloroquine, and a derivative of it called hydroxychloroquine, have been found effective in killing the virus in laboratory experiments, according to some recent studies.