South Korea has used Remdesivir, an antiviral drug conventionally administered to Ebola patients, to treat two people diagnosed with the coronavirus, the Health Ministry's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd July, 2020) South Korea has used Remdesivir, an antiviral drug conventionally administered to Ebola patients, to treat two people diagnosed with the coronavirus, the Health Ministry's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said on Thursday.
In early June, the KCDC said that the country's Ministry of food and Drug Safety had made an emergency decision to allow the use of Remdesivir for treating the new coronavirus.
The country's Yonhap news agency cited the KCDC as saying that the drug was administered to two patients who needed oxygen treatment.
Developed by the US-based Gilead Science, Remdesivir was initially developed to treat hepatitis C but was then pitched as a treatment for Ebola, SARS and MERS with varying degrees of effectiveness. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, Remdesivir has been the subject of much discussion as a treatment for patients.
The first batch of the drug was donated by Gilead Science to South Korea. As of now, the KCDC intends to launch talks on purchasing more in the near future, as the country is still fighting the pandemic.
On Thursday, South Korea recorded 54 new cases of infection, including 36 local infections, bringing the country's total tally to 12,850, according to the KCDC.
