Trials have shown that remdesivir may cut recovery times for coronavirus patients, but it has not been shown to reduce deathsA British minister has accused the White House of undermining global efforts to combat Covid-19 by buying up virtually the entire supply of remdesivir, one of only two drugs proven to treat the disease. Nadhim Zahawi, the business minister, criticised Donald Trump’s decision to secure 500,000 courses of the antiviral over the next three months, which trials suggest speeds up the recovery of some patients. Mr Zahawi told Sky News: “It’s much better to work together than to work to undermine each other, so we’ll continue in that spirit.”Analysts said that the deal might offer a glimpse of things to come as nations jockey for limited supplies of potential Covid treatments. Remdesivir is manufactured by Gilead Sciences, which is based in California.

Source: The Times July 01, 2020 04:30 UTC