Remdesivir Shortage Hits Europe as Covid-19 Cases Rise

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Poland's health minister Adam Niedzielski said on Tuesday the drug was in short supply in some hospitals. Its latest shipment from the European Union order arrived just last Friday.

Spain, which has Europe's highest infection rate, experienced shortages in late August, its medicine agency said. It has now enough doses to meet needs for the coming weeks, the health ministry said on Tuesday.

Britain, which has joined the European Union procurement for remdesivir, has rationed its supply, prioritizing Covid-19 patients who need it most, the health ministry said.

Shortages are likely to stir debate about the availability and pricing of Covid-19 drugs. While dexamethasone, a generic medicine, is widely available and cheap, remdesivir is protected by Gilead's patent.

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The company has set a $2,340 price per patient for wealthier nations. It says it has also donated treatments for research and to treat hundreds of thousands of patients around the world.

New supplies

A spokesman for the European Commission, which negotiates medical supply deals on behalf of EU states during the pandemic, was not immediately available for comment about shortages.

The EU executive is discussing with Gilead a new supply deal, meant to be sealed by late September or the beginning of October "to prevent a delivery gap", a Commission official told health experts from EU governments at a meeting in mid-September, minutes show.

The supplies secured so far by the EU were supposed to cover needs until the end of September. Several officials said new deliveries were expected shortly.

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Gilead has expanded its production capacity. Last week it said it was meeting US demand and expected to cover global needs in October, even in the event of future surges of Covid-19.

Available doses in the European Union have so far been divided according to the number of cases and hospitalization rates.

But not all EU states face shortages. Germany's health ministry said the stock for the Covid-19 drug was sufficient for the coming months.

(Writers: Anthony Deutsch, Alicja Ptak, Francesco Guarascio | Editors: Peter Graff, Richard Pullin)

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-europe-drugs/european-countries-face-shortages-of-covid-19-drug-remdesivir-idUSKBN26R2IR