LONDON, KOMPAS.com – US officials reportedly purchased almost all the remdesivir supplies in the world used to deal with coronas.
The move was taken after a surge in the number of corona cases in the US. US health officials warn that the number of new cases of corona in the United States every day has reached 100,000.
Remdesivir, which was once used as an Ebola drug, is produced exclusively by the large US pharmaceutical company, Gilead, at a price of US $ 532, or around Rp. 7.6 million, per 6 doses.
Antiviral drug trials in corona patients have shown results, that this drug can reduce the length of time they experience symptoms from 15 days to 11 days by stopping virus reproduction.
According to the US Department of Human Health Services (HHS), the US has secured all global drug supplies for July and 90 percent of available stockpiles for August and September.
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A senior researcher, Dr. Andrew Hill, who visited Liverpool University Sky News, said the move meant it would make it difficult for Britain and Europe to deal with Covid-19 patients.
At least it was only in October that new patients had access to the drug because it was clear that within 3 months the inventory was empty.
“The action the US has taken means that people with Covid-19 in the UK cannot get access to adequate care for them to survive,” Hill said.
Then he continued that the shortage of drugs in Europe also could not be supplied by low and middle income countries that could produce generic versions of drugs.
Because, Gilead has a patent to supply drugs in the region which resulted in other countries unable to sell their drugs there.
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Another drug that has so far been proven to reduce symptoms in corona patients is a steroid drug called dexamethasone.
Unlike Remdesivir, these drug products are relatively inexpensive to produce and are widely available throughout the world.
Meanwhile, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed that the use of Remdesivir in Covid-19 patients was “the biggest step forward in coronavirus treatment since the crisis began”.
Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) regretted the US move to buy Remdesivir, because it hoped that corona-administered drugs could spread widely, especially to adults and teenagers who generally suffer from severe symptoms in British hospitals.
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