Gilead Sciences to Expand Stockpile of Potential Covid-19 Drug

What’s new: Gilead Sciences Inc. will expand its stockpile of remdesivir, a drug now being tested on Covid-19 patients, Daniel O’Day, the company’s chairman and CEO said Saturday.

“Our existing supply, including finished product ready for distribution as well as investigational medicine in the final stages of production, amounts to 1.5 million individual doses … this supply could equate to well over 140,000 treatment courses for patients,” he said. “We have set an ambitious goal of producing more than 500,000 treatment courses by October and more than 1 million treatment courses by the end of this year.”

Background: Remdesivir is still an investigational medicine and has not been approved by regulatory authorities anywhere in the world. Its safety and efficacy are not yet known. Multiple clinical trials for remdesivir are underway, involving thousands of patients with Covid-19 across the world, according to the company.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. To read the full Caixin article in Chinese, click here.

Related: It’s Too Early to Get Excited About Gilead’s New Coronavirus Drug, Experts Say

Contact reporter Timmy Shen (hongmingshen@caixin.com)