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posted by martyb on Sunday July 05 2020, @09:50PM   Printer-friendly
from the all-mine dept.

US Secures World Stock of Key Covid-19 Drug Remdesivir

US Secures World Stock of Key Covid-19 Drug Remdesivir:

No other country will be able to buy remdesivir, which can help recovery from Covid-19, for next three months at least

The US has bought up virtually all the stocks for the next three months of one of the two drugs proven to work against Covid-19, leaving none for the UK, Europe or most of the rest of the world.

Experts and campaigners are alarmed both by the US unilateral action on remdesivir and the wider implications, for instance in the event of a vaccine becoming available. The Trump administration has already shown that it is prepared to outbid and outmanoeuvre all other countries to secure the medical supplies it needs for the US.

“They’ve got access to most of the drug supply [of remdesivir], so there’s nothing for Europe,” said Dr Andrew Hill, senior visiting research fellow at Liverpool University.

Remdesivir, the first drug approved by licensing authorities in the US to treat Covid-19, is made by Gilead and has been shown to help people recover faster from the disease. The first 140,000 doses, supplied to drug trials around the world, have been used up. The Trump administration has now bought more than 500,000 doses, which is all of Gilead’s production for July and 90% of August and September.

US to buy 500,000 Remdesivir Coronavirus Treatment Courses at $2,340 Each

US to buy 500,000 remdesivir coronavirus treatment courses at $2,340 each:

The US Department of Health and Human Services has agreed to buy 500,000 remdesivir treatment courses, in the wake of clinical trials revealing the drug can help patients recover more quickly from the coronavirus. A five-day course will cost $2,340,or $3,120 for commercially insured patients, biotech firm Gilead Sciences said.

Early last month, the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency authorization for remdesivir to be used in cases of COVID-19 when patients were "hospitalized with severe disease," shortly after the drug showed "clear-cut positive effect" in a US trial.

[...] "To the extent possible, we want to ensure that any American patient who needs remdesivir can get it," HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in a release.

[...] Gilead CEO Daniel O'Day addressed the higher price for private insurers, according to health site Stat, by noting that there are "always two prices" for a drug in the US. In an open letter, he acknowledged that the company's work on remdesivir is "far from done."

[...] He also said that countries in the developing world will get the drug at greatly reduced prices, through generic manufacturers.


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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by Mykl on Monday July 06 2020, @08:13AM (1 child)

    by Mykl (1112) on Monday July 06 2020, @08:13AM (#1016881)

    Yes, this really does suck.

    1. Get overseas arrivals to quarantine in a hotel for 2 weeks after arrival
    2. Assign a bunch of poorly trained, junior, not-too-bright novices as security guards. Bonus points - have them belong to communities that traditionally have large families and are culturally very physical with each other (lots of hugs and kisses)
    3. Ignore the possibility of them 'interacting' (in a number of ways!) with the quarantined population. E.g. cigarette breaks together, intimate encounters, poor precautionary measures
    4. Have them go home and spread anything they've picked up with the rest of their extended families
    5. Profit?

    Heads have already rolled on this one, and parts of Melbourne are now in various stages of lockdown. The rest of Australia is pretty much clear, so it's frustrating that we stuffed up our Quarantine procedures so badly here.

    For context - our horror number was over 100 new cases in a day across the state of Victoria (population 6.6m) yesterday, so we are not quite at US levels yet!

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  • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Monday July 06 2020, @04:56PM

    by RS3 (6367) on Monday July 06 2020, @04:56PM (#1017144)

    I'm a USAian (if you didn't already guess) and I'm saddened, frustrated, disappointed, etc., seeing our news and huge numbers of people congregating on beaches, restaurants, etc., must (mostly) without masks. Stores that have been open throughout the pandemic have relaxed some of their rules, but continue to require masks and try to encourage "social distancing". Epidemiologist I talked to a week ago said masks really help, and if everyone wears masks, "social distancing" isn't as necessary. Also, total amount of exposure to infected person is a big factor. You could wear a mask and walk by someone who is infected but wearing a mask, and it's very unlikely you'll get infected.

    Another disappointment: I'd love to see a much stronger world-wide effort in bio research and in support thereof. I could do a lot, but I don't see any media articles, nor job ads...

    That's great news that you have such a low infection rate! Too many "Americans" are too free-spirited, "damn the torpedoes- full speed ahead" mentality.