Learning The Right Lessons From The Race For An Effective Covid-19 Treatment

Learning The Right Lessons From The Race For An Effective Covid-19 Treatment

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On June 29, 2020 Gilead announced its price for remdesivir - an antiviral medication that has shown efficacy shortening the recovery time for patients with Covid-19. This price announcement provides several important lessons for the U.S. healthcare system.



First, and perhaps most important, innovation is essential for winning the war against Covid-19. Innovation requires money and risk taking. Gilead may spend up to $1 billion developing remdesivir according to the company's recent call with investors. In addition to these expenditures, Gilead donated 1.5 million vials of the drug, which was the "entirety“ of their drug supply through the early summer.



And, Gilead is not the only company taking these risks or spending this exorbitant amount of money.



Pfizer, for example, is repurposing two drugs that are potential treatments for Covid-19. The company has also shifted "production at four manufacturing plants to make 20 million vaccine doses by the end of the year and hundreds of millions more in 2021“¦Pfizer is also willing to spend $1 billion in 2020 to develop and manufacture the vaccine before they know if it will work.“



Many physicians are becoming "cautiously optimistic“ about the availability of efficacious drugs