Remdesivir Shortage Hits Europe as Covid-19 Cases Rise

AMSTERDAM/WARSAW/BRUSSELS, KOMPAS.com – Europe is facing a shortage of a key Covid-19 drug remdesivir as limited supplies are depleting fast, officials said.

The depletion of the Covid-19 drug comes as global coronavirus cases surge and as the US has bought up most of the drugmaker Gilead’s output.

Gilead Chief Commercial Officer Johanna Mercier said the company expects by next week to be in a position to fulfill orders coming through Europe.

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She added that the pharmaceutical company will, by the end of October, be able to meet real-time global demand for remdesivir.

She said the company is working with EU regulators so that the Covid-19 drug can be distributed more widely, but without going through the country-by-country economic review process typically required before a pharmaceutical product can be sold in Europe.

In July, the 27 European Union countries and Britain, with a combined population of 500 million, secured doses to treat about 30,000 patients.

The United States signed a deal for more than 500,000 courses of treatment, accounting for most of Gilead's output through September.

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"Remdesivir has run out," Dutch Health Ministry spokesman Martijn Janssen told Reuters, adding however that new deliveries were expected shortly.

"We want to make sure not only that there is enough supply to go around, but more importantly that everybody has access to it across Europe," Gilead's Mercier said in a telephone interview.

The antiviral drug has been shown to shorten hospital recovery time in severe cases of Covid-19. Remdesivir and the steroid dexamethasone are the only drugs authorized in Europe to treat the novel virus.

Both have been given to US President Donald Trump, who is also receiving an experimental antibody cocktail.

Hospitalizations across Europe have been rapidly increasing, although in most countries still far below levels of the spring.

"Due to the increased hospital admissions, the demand for remdesivir is increasing rapidly," the Dutch spokesman said.

Read also: WHO: Europe to Brace for Uptick in Covid-19 Deaths in Coming Months

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.

Read also: Europe Imposes Coronavirus Restrictions after Alarming Surge of Infections

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