Gilead eyes remdesivir supplies for 1 million by year end

New York: Amid positive results from two trials of investigational antiviral drug remdesivir on hospitalised COVID-19 patients, its US-based maker Gilead Sciences has said it is ramping up production of the drug and by year end it should have enough supplies for treating over 1 million patients.

"We've significantly reduced lead times and expanded our global network of partners. As additional raw materials come available, we'll have an exponential increase in supplies towards the latter half of this year," Gilead Sciences CEO Daniel O'Day said during an earnings call with analysts as the company reported its Q1 2020 results on Thursday.

"We hope to have produced enough supplies to treat over a million patients by year end. We are also working to build a global consortium of pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturers to expand global capacity and production," he said.