UK has enough remdesivir supplies, Govt says – after Trump bought nearly all global stock of coronavirus drug for US

THE UK has enough supplies of the drug remdesivir, the Government has said – after the US bought almost all the global stock.

Concerns were raised that Britain wouldn’t be able to get hold of the treatment – shown to work against coronavirus – until autumn.

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But the Department of Health has confirmed it had secured supplies of the in advance and said there is enough to treat every NHS patient who needs it.

Remdesivir was originally developed for use against but trials showed that it helped patients hospitalised with coronavirus recover almost a third faster.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock hailed it the “biggest step forward” in treating Covid-19 when it was given approval for use on the NHS in May.

It is one of two drugs which have been given the green light in treating coronavirus patients in the UK.

The other is dexamethasone – a £5 anti-inflammatory steroid proven to reduce the death rate among those requiring hospital ventilation for the bug.

Hoarders

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) said it had secured more than 500,000 treatment courses of remdesivir for American hospitals.

This represents 100 per cent of the US pharmaceutical firm 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), alongside an allocation for clinical trials.

HHS secretary Alex Azar said in a statement: “President Trump has struck an amazing deal to ensure Americans have access to the first authorised therapeutic for Covid-19.

“To the extent possible, we want to ensure that any American patient who needs remdesivir can get it.

“The Trump administration is doing everything in our power to learn more about life-saving therapeutics for Covid-19 and secure access to these options for the American people.”

Medics’ fury

But the move by the Trump administration sparked fury with leading scientists who raised concerns over “fair access” to the drug.

Oxford University’s Professor Peter Horby, chairman of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said manufacturer Gilead would be under “certain political pressures locally” as a US company.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It does raise two very important questions: what is a fair price for a drug, and what is fair access to a drug, and those are common issues but are particularly important in a global crisis like this.

“That’s part of the fair access question – the trial that gave the result that allowed remdesivir to sell their drug wasn’t just done in the US, there were patients participating through other European countries, in the UK as well, and internationally, Mexico and other places.

“And I wonder how they would feel knowing now that the drug is going to have restricted availability in their own country and would they have volunteered for that trial if they had known that?”

It also raises questions if a vaccine is found, he said.

“Commercial companies are built to behave like this and we need a much stronger framework if we are going to develop these things and they’re going to be used for national emergencies,” he added.

Gilead has said it will charge 2,340 US dollars (£1,900) for a typical treatment course for people in the US and other developed countries.

It will sell for less in poorer countries where generic drug-makers are being allowed to produce it.

Critics in the US attacked the price because taxpayers have funded much of the drug’s development.

UK business minister Nadhim Zahawi said governments and firms should cooperate to ensure access to coronavirus treatments.

“By attempting to compete, I think we ultimately undermine all of our strategies,” he said.

“Much better to work together than to work to undermine each other.”

It has been approved for use in Covid-19 patients by the US and the UK, among other countries, after data suggested it can cut recovery time by about four days.

However, there is no clinical trial data as yet to suggest it improves survival from coronavirus.