Remdesivir, the drug that “saves Trump”, is in short supply in Europe. And Brussels buys new shares

In the United States, they say it helped President Donald Trump recover from Covid-19. In Europe, stocks are starting to run out. So much so that the EU has taken cover by buying an additional 500,000 doses of Remdesivir, a drug from the US multinational Gilead. One of the two treatments approved so far by the EMA, the EU pharmaceutical agency, against the coronavirus.

The most serious deficiencies, as reconstructed by The Guardian, concern the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. In Italy, Aifa told Ansa, the problem would not have manifested itself. Last July, the US administration bought 500,000 doses of the drug, while the European Union had reserved 30,000 doses. In Britain, The Guardian also reports, doctors were asked to ration it, while the Netherlands reported they had run out of supplies. So far, the doses available in the EU have covered 3,400 patients. But the increase in infections across the Old Continent has pushed Brussels to seek refuge, also on behalf of the United Kingdom.

In fact, the European Commission has signed a joint procurement framework contract with Gilead for the supply of up to 500,000 doses of Remdesivir. An agreement that includes all EU countries, the countries of the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and six candidate and potential candidate countries (including Albania). Redemsivir “is at this stage the only drug with a conditional marketing authorization in the EU for the treatment of Covid-19 patients who need an oxygen supply,” the Commission said. According to Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, “Through our joint acquisitions, we are enabling the countries of Europe to join forces and gain access to vital equipment and medicines. We strengthen together is European solidarity in action against Covid- 19 “.