Gilead’s anti-viral remdesivir may be found effective against coronavirus

The company is in discussions with some of the world’s leading chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing companies about their ability, under voluntary licenses, to produce remdesivir for Europe, Asia and the developing world through at least 2022

Of late, Gilead has worked with speed, care and diligence to prepare for the possibility that the company’s investigational anti-viral remdesivir may be found effective against the virus that causes COVID-19. Recent clinical trial results and the decision by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue an Emergency Use Authorisation for remdesivir have highlighted the urgency of this work and the importance of planning for access to remdesivir globally, the company said in a statement.

It further added, “Gilead is in discussions with some of the world’s leading chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing companies about their ability, under voluntary licenses, to produce remdesivir for Europe, Asia and the developing world through at least 2022. The company is also negotiating long-term voluntary licenses with several generic drugmakers in India and Pakistan to produce remdesivir for developing countries. It will provide appropriate technology transfers to facilitate this production. Finally, the company is in active discussions with the Medicines Patent Pool, which Gilead has partnered with for many years, to license remdesivir for developing countries.”

As per the company release, to further facilitate access in developing countries during this acute health crisis, Gilead is in advanced discussions with UNICEF to utilise their extensive experience providing medicines to low- and middle-income countries during emergency and humanitarian crises to deliver remdesivir using its well-established distribution networks.

“Close coordination of remdesivir manufacturing will be critical. This is why Gilead is working to build a consortium of manufacturing partners – to bring efforts together to help maximise global supply. Producing the drug requires scarce raw materials, with their own lengthy production time and specialised manufacturing capabilities with limited global capacity. Any disruption to the supply chain impacting these scarce raw materials and other manufacturing inputs could reduce the amount of remdesivir produced and increase the time it takes to do so,” the statement said.

It also said that Gilead is grateful to all its colleagues at health agencies and organisations around the world for their valuable input and insight, which have helped guide the company’s strategy. “The company looks forward to keeping its partners and the public updated as plans move forward,” according to the statement.