Gilead Says It Will Produce 1M Courses Of Coronavirus Experimental Drug 'Remdesivir' By December

Gilead Sciences, Inc. GILD on Thursday said it is expecting to have produced at least one million treatment courses of the drug Remdesivir by December.

What Happened

The company added it planned "to be able to produce several million treatment courses in 2021," Reuters reported.

Gilead expects to have produced enough courses of the drug by the end of June to treat at least 140,000 patients, according to Reuters.

The company's drug Remdesivir is undergoing clinical trials to see if it can be an effective treatment against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Earlier this week, a study conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases concluded that the drug reduced the time of recovery by up to 31% for coronavirus patients who require hospitalization.

Gilead has said it plans to donate the initial supply to hospitals, but CEO Daniel O'Day didn't say if the company eventually plans to profit from the potential COVID-19 treatment, Reuters noted.

The drugmaker beat analyst expectations in its first-quarter earnings report earlier in the day.

There's currently no approved treatment for COVID-19, but six vaccine candidates, including those Moderna Inc. MRNA and Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. INO, are currently seeing clinical trials.