Coronavirus: EC signs joint procurement contract with Gilead for supply of Remdesivir
The European Commission has signed a joint procurement framework contract with pharmaceutical company Gilead for the supply of up to 500 000 treatment courses of Veklury, the brand name for Remdesivir, and the opportunity to increase supply beyond the 500 000 treatment courses, the Commission said on October 8.
There are 36 signatories of the Joint Procurement Agreement participating in this joint procurement, including all EU countries, EEA countries, the UK, as well as six candidate countries and potential candidates (Albania, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina).
All participating countries can now place their orders to procure Veklury directly. Veklury is at this stage the only medicine with a conditional marketing authorisation in the EU for the treatment of Covid-19 patients needing oxygen supply, the Commission said.
Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said: “Today we secure access to Remdesivir for the treatment of up to 500 000 patients in need.
“We are leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to ensure that safe and efficient therapeutics are available against Covid-19. Through our EU Joint Procurements, we are empowering countries across Europe to join forces and get access to vital equipment and medicines. We are always stronger together, and this is European solidarity in action against Covid-19,” Kyriakides said.
The signature of this joint procurement framework contract follows the European Commission’s contract with Gilead to secure 33 380 treatment courses of Veklury that have been distributed across the EU and the UK since August.
This contract was financed from the Commission’s Emergency Support Instrument (ESI), worth a total of 70 million euro.
The treatment courses purchased with ESI funding have helped to cover the immediate needs from August until October to ensure that critical patients receive the treatments, the Commission said.
The medication has been disbursed in several instalments.
The joint procurement contract will now ensure that countries will continue to have an uninterrupted supply of Veklury if they decide to procure the product, the statement said.
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