FDA has approved Remdesivir for emergency use in coronavirus patients

Following a positive NIH trial of the drug, the FDA has rushed an approval for the Gilead Sciences product

Published: May 1, 2020 4:14pm

Updated: May 1, 2020 4:41pm

President Trump announced on Friday that the Food and Drug Administration has approved the drug Remdesivir for emergency use in hospitalized coronavirus patients.

The drug is product of Gilead Sciences, whose CEO Daniel O'Day said, "We're going to work very closely with the government and with health care systems to make sure that it's accessible, that it's affordable to governments."

The FDA's approval will last only for the duration of the pandemic, but health regulators will likely grant full approval for the drug if more positive results emerge from a larger study by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci recently shared the results of the NIH's trial of the drug, saying that it helped reduce the recovery time in coronavirus patients by as much as 31%.

Remdesivir is an antiviral drug, administered intravenously that has previously been studied as a treatment for Ebola.

The U.S. coronavirus death toll passed 64,000 today.