Trump gives crony corporation exclusive patent rights to potential C-virus cure

https://theintercept.com/2020/03/23/...bhgXip2xXMG-24

God forgive me for saying this but Jesus H. Tap-Dancing Chist! What the Actual FRAK?!?

Is there no end to this depraved man's venality and criminality?

Quote:

The distinction could severely limit supply of remdesivir by granting Gilead Sciences exclusive protection over the drug and complete control of its price. Other pharmaceutical firms, including India-based pharmaceutical firm Cipla, are reportedly working toward a generic form of remdesivir, but patients in the U.S. could be prevented from buying generics with lower prices now that Gilead Sciences’s drug has been designated an orphan. Today, Gilead abruptly announced that it would no longer provide emergency access to remdesivir, telling the New York Times that “overwhelming demand” left it unable to process requests for the drug through its compassionate use program. Hours later, the FDA gave the drug orphan status. Almost immediately, Gilead’s stock price shot up. Gilead did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House, on behalf of Grogan, declined to comment on the record. The special orphan designation, which can also be granted to drugs when there is little reasonable expectation that a company will recoup its research costs, was given to remdesivir despite hefty support by the government for the development of the drug. Gilead Sciences’ remdesivir was developed with at least $79 million in U.S. government funding, according to a paper published last week by KEI. The origins of the drug came after the 2014 Ebola outbreak in western Africa, which spurred research into potential antiviral medications to control future potential pandemics. Early promising results from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease revealed that Rhesus monkeys infected with Ebola survived after undergoing an antiviral treatment using GS-5734, the compound now known as remdesivir. The U.S. National Institute Allergies and Infectious Diseases continued providing significant taxpayer funding to subsidize the development of remdesivir. NIAID grants to Columbia University, Vanderbilt University, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and the University of Alabama subsequently found that remdesivir prevents virus replication in a range of coronaviruses in human lung cells.

via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/3bt8cll