

The drug, which California-based Gilead Sciences Inc. is calling Veklury, cut the time to recovery by five days - from 15 days to 10 on average - in a large study led by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.


Veklury is approved for people at least 12 years old and weighing at least 88 pounds (40 kilograms) who need hospitalization for their coronavirus infection. For patients younger than 12, the FDA will still allow the drug's use in certain cases under its previous emergency authorization.

The drug works by inhibiting a substance the virus uses to make copies of itself. Certain tests are required before starting patients on it. And the label warns against using it with the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, because that can curb its effectiveness.

“We now have enough knowledge and a growing set of tools to help fight COVID-19,” Gilead's chief medical officer, Dr. Merdad Parsey, said in a statement.




Only one treatment - steroids such as dexamethasone - has been shown so far to cut the risk of dying of COVID-19. The FDA also has given emergency authorization to using the blood of survivors and two companies are currently seeking similar authorization for experimental antibody drugs.