US buys up world stock of key COVID-19 drug remdesivir
The United States has bought nearly the entire world's supply of remdesivir, one of just two drugs proven to treat COVID-19, Euronews reports.
The anti-viral drug patented by the US-based Gilead biotech firm is the only one approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to treat patients with the novel coronavirus.
The announcement from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) implies European health authorities may not be able to acquire any supplies until the autumn.
US authorities secured more than 500,000 treatment courses of the drug through September, which "represents 100 per cent of Gilead's projected production for July (94,200 treatment courses), 90 per cent of production in August (174,900 treatment courses), and 90 per cent of production in September (232,800 treatment courses)," the HHS said in a statement.