Gilead Sciences, a U.S.-based biotech firm, signed licensing agreements with 5 generic pharmaceutical companies, allowing the drugmakers to manufacture antiviral drug Remdesivir for distribution in 127 countries, including Georgia.

Gilead permitted these pharmaceutical firms to manufacture Remdesivir for distribution in mostly low and lower-middle income countries “that face significant obstacles to healthcare access”.

The Deputy Minister of Health Tamar Gabunia said today that Georgia will receive Remdesivir in the framework of Solidarity, a randomized clinical trial, launched by the World Health Organization to assess effectiveness of several antiviral drugs. On the whole, seven Georgian medical facilities, dubbed as “COVID-19 centers,” will be supplied with the new drug.

In Georgia Remdesivir will be given only to seriously ill patients. The drug will appear in the country in May.