US Regulator Approves Coronavirus Drug Remdesivir

The FDA has formally approved the use of the antiviral drug Veklury (with the active ingredient remdesivir) in the treatment of corona patients in hospitals.

This drug from the pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences is also used in Europe. Earlier this year, the FDA had already issued emergency approval for the use of Veklury through an accelerated procedure.

Gilead describes Veklury as the “first and only approved treatment for Covid-19” in the United States. There, sick President Donald Trump, among others, was administered the drug.

He ended up in hospital this month after contracting the coronavirus. Remdesivir was initially developed to fight other viruses.

In Europe, the medicines agency gave EMA a conditional market authorization for Veklury in early July.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive committee, has purchased hundreds of thousands of doses of the drug from Gilead in recent months. This was done in the context of a joint purchase procedure on behalf of dozens of European countries.