FDA authorizes use of Gilead Sciences’ remdesivir for patients severely ill with covid-19

The Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization Friday that will allow doctors to use Gilead Sciences’ drug remdesivir to treat patients who are hospitalized with serious cases of covid-19.

The limited approval allows the antiviral drug, which is administered intravenously, to be used to treat the disease in adults and children hospitalized with severe disease, which is defined as patients with low blood oxygen levels or needing oxygen therapy or a mechanical ventilator. Such an approval allows the agency to clear products for use without full data on their safety and efficacy.