WASHINGTON: Britain and Germany said Wednesday they had sufficient stocks of remdesivir, the first drug to be shown to be relatively effective in treating COVID-19, and of which the United States has bought almost all supply.
The US government announced this week that it had bought 92 percent of all remdesivir production by the Gilead laboratory until the end of September - about 500,000 treatments out of nearly 550,000. Each treatment requires 6.25 vials on average.
President Donald Trump "has struck an amazing deal to ensure Americans have access to the first authorized therapeutic for COVID-19," said Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar.
The drug was approved in the United States on May 1 after clinical trials showing it reduced the recovery time for seriously ill Covid-19 patients by four days, and Europe is set approve it soon.
Washington's buy-up raised concerns about a shortage in the rest of the world, but at least two European countries said Thursday that they were not worried.
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