Oregon hospitals to receive experimental COVID-19 drug

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Oregon Health Authority announced Sunday that hospitals throughout the state will begin receiving shipments of remdesivir, an experimental drug that has been used to treat patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19.

Remdesivir, which has not formally been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, has been used under a federally issued Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). The drug was developed by Gilead Sciences Inc. and has been tested in patients with various diseases like Ebola and SARS, according to OHA.

Preliminary clinical testing by the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease shows that some patients treated with the drug experienced faster recoveries. For instance, people with advanced lung disease who received the drug recovered 31% faster than patients who did not.

Providence St. Vincent and Providence Portland medical centers have been approved for clinical trials of the drug with more than 30 patients already tested. The allotments received by OHA included enough remdesivir for 80 patients to receive a 10-day treatment course.

The drug will be distributed to hospitals immediately upon notification of an eligible patient and under specified terms of the EUA.