UK’s Hikma starts manufacturing COVID-19 treatment remdesivir for Gilead

Aug 7 (Reuters) – Hikma Pharmaceuticals has started manufacturing remdesivir, an approved treatment for COVID-19 from U.S.-based Gilead, for an undisclosed amount at its facility in Portugal, the British company’s chief executive officer said.

The company will supply the first batches of the antiviral drug “soon,” and Gilead is expected to distribute the treatment, which was the first to be greenlit for the illness caused by the new coronavirus.

“The terms of the deal are confidential, we are simply a contract manufacturer for Gilead – they order products from us as they expect the sales to be,” CEO Siggi Olafsson told Reuters on Friday.