WASHINGTON, D.C. – The FDA has granted emergency use authorization for Remdesivir as a coronavirus treatment. The move expands doctors’ ability to use the drug on patients with the most severe cases of the virus. Before, they were limited to trying the drug in clinical trials or in those with no other options.
Earlier this week, a large study showed patients who received Remdesivir were discharged four days earlier than those given a placebo.
Gilead Sciences is the biopharmaceutical company that manufactures the drug and says this is an important first step.
The company’s CEO, Daniel O’Day, met with President Trump and his administration Friday at the White House.
O’Day said, “We saw an incredible human need and we said in the even that this is successful, we have to plan for success and that’s just the way we operate. I’m proud to work for a company that makes those types of decisions.”
O’Day said he will donate one million vials of Remdesivir to hospitals starting on Monday.
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