Anti-viral drug remdesivir will be available for coronavirus patients as early as this week. The drug was approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration, Friday.

Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

CEO of Gilead Sciences, which is making the drug, Dan O’Day announced the time estimate on CBS’ Face of the Nation.

“We intend to get that to patients in the early part of this next week,” O’Day said. 

O’Day continued to say that Gilead Sciences plans to donate 1.5 million ls, which is its entire supply, to the United States government. “We did that because we acknowledge and recognize the human suffering, the human need here and want to make sure that nothing gets in the way of this getting to patients,” he explained.

The government will determine which states will have first access to the drug. O’Day explains the government “will determine which cities are most vulnerable and where the patients are that need this medicine.”

The drug has seen encouraging results in a recent clinical trial.

In the United States, there have been over 1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have also been over 60,000 deaths related to complications from the coronavirus.

New York leads the country in total cases with over 300,000. 

[Via]