'Europe was not left': the United States bought the world stock of remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19

The United States has purchased almost the entire world stock of remdesivir, an antiviral drug that can accelerate the recovery of patients infected with coronavirus, writes New York Post.

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Head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Hazard announced an agreement to provide a large amount of medicine from Gilead Sciences until September, which will allow American hospitals to buy it.

“President Trump struck an amazing deal to ensure Americans have access to the first authorized treatment for COVID-19,” Azar said in a statement. “To the extent possible, we want to ensure that any American patient who needs remdesivir can receive it. The Trump Administration is committed to learning more about life-saving treatments for COVID-19 and ensuring access to these options for the American people.”

The head of the HHS said more than 500 treatments were booked for Americans.

"This represents 100 percent of Gilead's projected production for July (94 treatments), 200 percent of August production (90 treatments) and 174,900 percent of September production (90 treatments), in addition to the clinical trial allocation," he said. He.

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Remdesivir will cost $ 3120 for a typical patient with private health insurance, or it will cost hospitals about $ 520 per dose for one patient with private insurance.

The shorter, more common course of treatment costs $3120, while the longer course costs $5720, according to the Wall Street Journal.

According to Euronews, this antiviral drug is the only one approved by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of patients with coronavirus.

Another drug that has been shown to have an effect in coronavirus patients is the steroid dexamethasone, which has been shown to reduce deaths in the most severely ill patients.

"They have access to most of the drugs [remdesivir], so there's nothing left for Europe," Dr Andrew Hill, a senior visiting fellow at the University of Liverpool, told Britain's Guardian.

“This is the first major drug approved, and where is the access mechanism? We're at the back of the line again,” he said.

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Hill added that the UK can still obtain remdesivir through a so-called compulsory license, which revokes the company's intellectual property rights.

This would allow the purchase of medicine from generic companies in Bangladesh or India, where the Gilead patent is not recognized, according to the Guardian.

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