EU orders 30,000 remdesivir coronavirus treatments

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(FILES) In this file photo one vial of the drug Remdesivir lies during a press conference about the start of a study with the Ebola drug Remdesivir in particularly severely ill patients at the University Hospital Eppendorf (UKE) in Hamburg, northern Germany on April 8, 2020, amidst the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. – Canada on July 28, 2020 gave the green light for people with severe symptoms of COVID-19 to be treated with the anti-viral drug remdesivir. “Remdesivir is the first drug that Health Canada has authorized for the treatment of COVID-19,” said the health ministry.At least two major US studies have shown that remdesivir can reduce the duration of hospital stays for COVID-19 patients. (Photo by Ulrich Perrey / POOL / AFP)

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The European Commission has ordered 30,000 treatment doses of the antiviral medication remdesivir from US drugs giant Gilead, it announced Wednesday.

Sold under the brand name Veklury, remdesivir is the first medicine to be approved by the EU to treat victims of the COVID-19 pandemic in EU member states and Britain.

It is hoped the drug will shorten recovery times for patients with severe infections and it will be made available early next month.

The first batch of doses will cost 63 million euros ($73 million) and ought to cover needs for the next few months before a second procurement contract in October.

© Agence France-Presse