The director of the manufacturer of remdesivir, the anti-viral experimental vaccine that has shown to minimize recovery times in COVID-19 patients, said the company was exporting the medication on Sunday and is making it available through the US government to patients in the United States.
Daniel O'Day, chief executive officer of Gilead Sciences, said the company is donating its entire current drug stock - 1.5 million vials - sufficient to treat 100,000 to 200,000 patients.
Following the approval of the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use of the antiviral medication to fight coronavirus, O'Day said that he expects the medicine to be administered to patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the coming days.
According to the CEO, they are now "firmly focused" on bringing this drug to the most critical patients around the United States. "We plan to bring the vaccine to patients early next week, beginning to work with the US government to assess which cities are most affected and where patients need it."
Remdesivir is the first candidate drug to show good outcomes in the treatment of Covid-19 since the discovery of a new coronavirus late last year in China. O'Day disclosed that the US government is going to decide how the drug is distributed in the the country based on where it is most needed.
Asked if the Trump administration has discussed using the Defense Procurement Act to favor the U.S. market over international markets, O'Day said that he thinks they are working with the U.S. government to both support patients here in the U.S. and ensure that the company will support other countries as a multinational business based in the U.S.
While Remdesivir is not a coronavirus cure, the antiviral drug shortened the length of hospital stay in users to an average of 11 days in a study of 800 patients, versus 15 days in COVID-19 patients who were not administered the medication.
Gilead Sciences estimates there will be 140,000-plus prescriptions by the end of May, with 1 million available by the end of 2020. The company also needs to discuss what it would charge for the drug if it is long-term approved.
The FDA's authorization allows it to be administered even wider and used in both adults and children diagnosed with a serious type of COVID-19. The FDA describes severe as having insufficient levels of blood oxygen, requiring oxygen treatment or being on a ventilator.
