The European Commission (EU), on Friday authorized the use of anti-viral drug remdesivir to treat coronavirus.
EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said in a statement: “Today’s authorization of a first medicine to treat COVID-19 is an important step forward in the fight against this virus.
“We are granting this authorisation less than a month after the application was submitted, showing clearly the EU’s determination to respond quickly whenever new treatments become available.”
Remdesivir has been been priced by its manufacturer, Gilead Sciences Inc at $390 or N150,789.50 per vial for patients in the United States as well as other developed countries.
The drug which is expected to be administered over a five day period is estimated to cost a total of $2,340 or N904,737.60 per patient.
The price of the COVID-19 drug set by its manufacturer on Monday however differs for US Private insurance companies which are expected to purchase the drug at $520 or N201,052.80 per vial and $3,120 or N1,206,316.80 per patient.
Read also: Trump drug’ hydroxychloroquine greatly reduces COVID-19 fatality rate – Study
According to Gilead, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will manage allocation of Remdesivir to hospitals across the country until the end of September. This is expected to come to an end once supplies are constrained.