Gilead to donate remdesivir for emergency use against Marburg disease in Rwanda
Adds details in paragraph 2, background in paragraphs 4-6
Oct 3 (Reuters) -Gilead Sciences GILD.O said on Thursday it would donate about 5,000 vials of its antiviral drug remdesivir to the Rwanda Medical Supply for emergency use in response to the Marburg virus outbreak.
The drug is being supplied in conjunction with Rwanda's health ministry and the Africa Centers for Disease Control, Gilead said.
Remdesivir, used during the pandemic to treat COVID-19 and originally developed to treat Ebola, is not approved for the treatment of Marburg disease anywhere and its safety and efficacy against the virus is unknown, the drugmaker said.
Rwanda's first outbreak of the viral fever, which causes symptoms including high fever, severe headaches and malaise, was detected in late September and has killed 11 people so far.
Earlier in the day, Rwanda's health minister said the country will start clinical trials of experimental vaccines and treatments for Marburg disease in the next few weeks.
The virus, which has a fatality rate of 88% so far, is transmitted to humans by fruit bats, before spreading through contact with the bodily fluids of those infected.
Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Krishna Chandra Eluri
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
