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Pharmaceutical Pfizer announced an agreement with biotechnology company Gilead Sciences to produce its drug against COVID-19, remdesivir, and thus scale the supply of the drug, which has been proven effective in reducing the chances of death from the virus.
Through a statement, Pfizer explained that it is an agreement “multiannual“For Gilead to use its manufacturing capacity and for the medicine to reach patients”as soon as possible”.
“From the beginning it was clear that no single company or innovation could end the COVID-19 crisis on its own. Pfizer’s agreement with Gilead is an excellent example of how members of the innovation ecosystem work together to deliver medical solutions.“Pfizer President and CEO Albert Bourla said in the note.
He also added that together they are “more powerful than alone”And that for Pfizer, as“one of the largest manufacturers of vaccines, biologics and sterile injectables“, is a “privilege”Offer their expertise and infrastructure to help fight the pandemic.
Remdesivir is the only drug authorized to treat COVID-19 in the United States, although that approval has been made through an emergency procedure.
The drug has not yet received final approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has not certified the use of any specific drug for the virus.
About a month ago, Gilead said they had carried out a study with 312 patients that proved that remdesivir, their treatment for the coronavirus, reduces the risk of critical patients of dying from the disease by up to 62% and said that the drug is associated with a significant “improved clinical recovery.”
Precisely this Thursday, the biotechnology firm assured that by October it would be able to manufacture enough doses of this intravenous drug to satisfy global demand and guaranteed that it is ready to deliver two million more drugs by the end of the year, as well as “many millions more”In 2021 after increasing the supply of the drug more than fifty times since January.
The agreement between Pfizer and Gilead comes as the former is still immersed in its effort to produce a possible vaccine against the coronavirus whose final phase of the trial with 30,000 humans began last week.
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