U.S. hospitals turn down remdesivir, limit use to sickest COVID-19 patients --Reuters

Exclusive: U.S. hospitals turn down remdesivir, limit use to sickest COVID-19 patients U.S. hospitals have turned down about a third of their allocated supplies of the COVID-19 drug remdesivir since July as need for the costly antiviral wanes, according to unpublished government statistics provided to Reuters by a U.S. pharmacists' group. Deena Beasley U.S.

(Reuters) - U.S. hospitals have turned down about a third of their allocated supplies of the COVID-19 drug remdesivir since July as need for the costly antiviral wanes, according to unpublished government statistics provided to Reuters by a U.S. pharmacists’ group.

Some hospitals said they are still buying the Gilead Sciences GILD.O medicine to build inventory in case the pandemic accelerates over the winter. But they said current supplies are adequate, in part because they are limiting use to severely ill patients.

The Food and Drug Administration has allowed more liberal remdesivir use, but 6 out of 8 major hospital systems contacted by Reuters said they were not using it for moderate cases.

The slowdown suggests that a shortage of the drug is over and threatens Gilead’s efforts to expand use of remdesivir, which it sells under the brand name Veklury in some countries.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) told hospitals and other healthcare organizations on Friday that between July 6 and September 8, state and territory public health systems accepted about 72% of the remdesivir they were offered, Michael Ganio, senior director of pharmacy practice and quality at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, told Reuters.

Hospitals in turn took only about two-thirds of what states and territories accepted, he added. It was not immediately clear what happened to the surplus supplies.

Neither Gilead nor HHS immediately responded to requests for comment.

A surplus of remdesivir - which costs $3,120 for a 6-vial intravenous course - marks a turnaround from earlier in the pandemic, when supplies of the drug had fallen short of demand in some regions. ...