28 July 2020 - On May 1, 2020, the US FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization for the unapproved drug remdesivir to treat hospitalised patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). 

The authorisation was based on a preliminary report from a randomised clinical trial in 1063 patients that found that remdesivir shortened the median time to recovery from 15 days to 11 days. Anticipating immediate worldwide demand, the maker of remdesivir, Gilead Sciences, donated 1.5 million doses of remdesivir to countries affected by the pandemic, including the US, which received 607 000 doses (enough to treat approximately 100 000 patients). However, the US and other countries have 2 major problems related to this drug. 

First, the supply of remdesivir is insufficient to treat all eligible patients, which has required hospitals to ration the drug. Second, there remain major gaps in knowledge about the efficacy of remdesivir, including whether it reduces mortality and what subgroups of patients may benefit the most.

Read JAMA Viewpoint article