Gilead ups participants in two trials for experimental COVID-19 treatment

Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD, -2.17% increased the number of participants in two ongoing clinical trials for remdesivir, its experimental treatment for COVID-19. According to ClinicalTrials.gov, the drugmaker upped the number of participants in a global, randomized, open-label Phase 3 trial for people with moderate forms of the disease to 1,600 from 600. It did the same for a similar trial evaluating remdesivir in patients with severe COVID-19, to 2,400 participants from 400. The first results from those trials are expected in May. Over the weekend, Gilead CEO Daniel O’Day said the company aims to have 500,000 treatment courses of remdesivir manufactured by October and 1 million by the end of 2020. Remdesivir has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for COVID-19; however, it is being used on an expanded use and compassionate use basis in the U.S. Gilead’s stock was down 1.8% in trading on Thursday. Since the start of 2020, shares of the company have gained 13.2%, while the S&P 500 SPX, 1.95% has dropped 14.8%.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/gilead-increase-number-of-participants-in-two-trials-for-experimental-covid-19-treatment-2020-04-09