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

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has agreed to buy 500,000 remdesivir treatment courses, in the wake of clinical trials revealing the drug can help patients recover from the coronavirusfaster. 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 where patients were “hospitalized with severe disease,” shortly after the drug showed “clear-cut positive effect” in a US trial. 

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“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.

This story will be updated shortly.

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