Remdesivir, an antiviral medication proven for efficacy in treating new coronavirus patients, is now available in South Korea after its developer based in the U.S. has finally donated the drug to the country.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said on Wednesday that the distribution of remdesivir began to treat COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms in Korea after Gilead Sciences Korea, the local importer of remdesivir developed by U.S. biotech company Gilead Sciences Inc., supplied the drug under a contract with KCDC to donate some remdesivir to the country. But both parties did not disclose the deal’s details such as donation volume under confidentiality agreements.

KCDC said that after it distributes the entire volume of the antiviral drug currently available in the country, it will additionally purchase the drug after determining the price of the drug through negotiations with Gilead Sciences.

The drug is not officially approved in Korea, but the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety gave a special go-ahead of its prescription under an exceptional procedure.

The first batch of remdesivir shipped to Korea for this month will be administered to patients with severed COVID-19 symptoms who receive a medical opinion of pneumonia based on chest X-ray or computerized tomography, show 94 percent or lower oxygen saturation level, need oxygen therapy, and show symptoms not more than 10 days.

Patients meeting all four criteria will be administered six bottles of remdesivir for five days with another five-day extension if needed.

Remdesivir was initially developed as treatment for Ebola virus but has been recommended as COVID-19 treatment after research results have shown that it can reduce the recovery period of patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms. The effect was not observed in patients with mild or moderate disease. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in May authorized emergency use of remdesivir for COVID-19 treatment.

By Seo Jin-woo and Lee Eun-joo

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