On Thursday, drugmaker Gilead Sciences announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19.
Gilead, which sells remdesivir under the brand name Veklury, issued a statement saying it was the first drug to be approved to treat COVID-19 patients that require hospitalization after previously being authorized by the FDA for emergency use. Veklury was approved for treatment of adults and pediatric patients aged 12 or older and weighing at least 88 pounds and “should only be administered in a hospital or in a healthcare setting capable of providing acute care comparable to inpatient hospital care,” Gilead said.
A study by the World Health Organization last week found that remdesivir along with hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir and interferon regimens “appeared to have little or no effect on hospitalized COVID-19, as indicated by overall mortality, initiation of ventilation and duration of hospital stay.”
