Trump admin buys almost entire world stock of remdesivir

NEW YORK: The Donald Trump administration has secured nearly the entire world stock of antiviral drug remdesivir from US-based Gilead Sciences for the next three months, leaving hardly any stock of the key COVID-19 drug for the rest of the world, foreign media reported.

As a result of an agreement with the drug maker announced earlier this week, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has secured more than 500,000 treatment courses of the drug for American hospitals through September.

This represents 100 per cent of Gilead's projected production for July (94,200 treatment courses), 90 percent of production in August (174,900 treatment courses), and 90 per cent of production in September (232,800 treatment courses), in addition to an allocation for clinical trials. A treatment course of remdesivir is, on average, 6.25 vials, the US Health and Human Services said.

The agreement allows hospitals in the US to purchase the drug in amounts allocated by HHS and State Health departments.

Hospitals in the US will receive the product shipped by AmerisourceBergen and will pay no more than Gilead's Wholesale Acquisition Price (WAC), which amounts to approximately $3,200 per treatment course. "President Trump has struck an amazing deal to ensure Americans have access to the first authorised therapeutic for COVID-19," US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement.