US pharmaceutical Gilead Sciences has finally announced positive results for its anti-viral drug Remdesivir in phase 3 of its study. According to several U.S. media, the U.S. FDA has granted emergency approval for the drug for use in adults and children as a treatment for COVID-19.
Anthony Fauci, head of the US Department of Health, said that while the Gilead data needs to be further analyzed, the firm has shown that this drug can be effective against coronavirus.
The company plans to distribute 1.5 million vials of the drug, enough for at least 140,000 patients, and has an additional 50,000 doses ready. It expects to produce at least 500,000 doses by October, one million by December 2020 and “millions more by 2021, if needed.”
Following last week’s announcements and counter notifications, Gilead is the first company to receive marketing authorization for an anti-COVID-19 drug. This is valid for the U.S. Europe has not made any announcement.
Gilead shares rose 5.68% after the announcement, accumulating 27.95% YTD.
The authorisation for Remdesivir does not exclude that other drugs, such as Spanish company PharmaMar’s Aplidin, may also be approved in the near future. At end-April, Pharmamar commenced a clinical trial for the treatment of patients with Covid19. This has already been authorised by the Spanish Medicines and Health Products Agency.
