The Trump administration is moving forward in its efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic by securing 500,000 doses of remdesivir, the first drug shown to be effective in treating coronavirus patients in clinical trials.
The Health and Human Services Department announced its agreement with biotechnology company Gilead Sciences for the supplies will last through September and that hospitals can purchase the drug in certain amounts allocated by HHS and state health departments.
“To the extent possible, we want to ensure that any American patient who needs remdesivir can get it,” HHS Secretary Alex Azar said. “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.”
The 500,000 treatment courses represent all of Gilead’s projected production of the drug for July and 90% of its production for August as well as September.
Hospitals are expected to pay no more than Gilead’s wholesale acquisition price, which is about $3,200 per treatment course. The cost of the drug will be incorporated into payments made by private insurance companies and Medicare to spare patients a direct payment owed for the treatment. HHS said it is common for patients not to pay directly for hospital-administered drugs such as remdesivir.
HHS said it will allocate the drugs to state and territorial health departments based on coronavirus-related hospital burdens. The departments will then designate the drug to hospitals.
Shipments of remdesivir will occur every two weeks with the first course of 120,000 doses being shipped on Monday.
The United States is experiencing a spike in cases in a handful of Southern states, prompting governors to reconsider their plans to reopen. More than 2.5 million cases of the coronavirus have been recorded in the U.S., and more than 125,000 COVID-19 patients in the country have died.
[Read more: Fauci: Herd immunity ‘unlikely’ if too many people refuse to get vaccinated for coronavirus]
