Dutch hospitals have used up all their stock of Remdesivir, a US-made drug for treating severe Covid-19 patients and the first one to be approved by the EU. Health authorities in the Netherlands confirmed media reports that the country has run out of the antiviral, adding that they were expecting to receive new stocks by Tuesday or Wednesday.
The EU executive purchased larges stocks of the Remdesivir drug for its Member States, immediately after the EU’s drug agency approved and authorized its use for the treatment coronavirus patients.
Back in August, an initial €63 million deal concluded with manufacturer Gilead secured around 30,000 doses of the treatment, while a larger deal to secure a steady supply from October onwards was in the works.
In recent weeks, officials from the Dutch Health Ministry had informed the EU Commission officials that a rise in covid-19 cases and consequent hospitalizations was putting Remdesivir stocks under pressure. According to Dutch doctors, the situation is not alarming yet; however, they have called the drug shortage “unpleasant.”
The Remdesivir antiviral was approved by the EU last June. The EU’s drug agency authorized its use on hospitalized patients with severe symptoms of Covid-19 after studies and trials showed that the use of Remdesivir sped-up their recovery.