Gilead in Talks with Companies in Pakistan for Manufacturing Remdesivir

Gilead Sciences Inc. is in talks with Pakistani pharmaceutical manufacturers to supply remdesivir, its Covid-19 treatment that has been cleared by U.S. health regulators for emergency use.

According to the company’s blog post, Gilead is in discussion with some of the world’s leading chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing companies about their ability, under voluntary licenses, to produce remdesivir.

It did not disclose the name of the companies with whom it’s having discussions.

The blog post read that the talks cover production for Europe, Asia, and the developing world through 2022. It’s also talking with manufacturers in Pakistan and India about manufacturing for developing markets, and about how to license the drug in those markets.

ProPakistani has reached out to Gilead and waits for its response.

Remdesivir is an investigational antiviral drug that is being studied in multiple ongoing international clinical trials, and the safety and efficacy of remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19 are not yet established.

The company promised it will make the compound “accessible and affordable to governments and patients around the world.”

“To further facilitate access in developing countries during this acute health crisis, Gilead is in advanced discussions with UNICEF to utilize their extensive experience providing medicines to low- and middle-income countries during emergency and humanitarian crises to deliver remdesivir using its well-established distribution networks,” read the blog post.

The company noted that close coordination of remdesivir manufacturing will be critical. This is why it is working to build a consortium of manufacturing partners – to bring efforts together to help maximize global supply.

Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a research-based biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Foster City, California which focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative medicines.