THOUGH, THAT NOT CANCELED YET THE 2020 REGULAR SEASON, SO
WE’LL SEE.
WE’LL SEE. >> ALL RIGHT.
NOW TO THE VERY LATEST ON THE
RARE PIECE OF GOOD NEWS DURING
THIS CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC.
WE’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS
POTENTIAL BREAKTHROUGH THERAPY,
A DRUG CALLED REMDESIVIR, THAT
HAS BEEN FOUND TO HELP PATIENTS
RECOVER FROM THE VIRUS QUICKLY.
WHEN WILL IT BE APPROVED?
HOW SOON WILL IT BE AVAILABLE?
DANIEL O’DAY FROM GILEAD
SCIENCES, THE COMPANY THAT
DISCOVERED THE MEDICINE.
MORNING TO YOU.
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR
DISCOVERY AND YOUR WORK HERE.
>> GOOD MORNING, SAVANNAH.
IT’S GREAT TO BE WITH YOU THIS
MORNING.
MORNING. >> IT IS WIDELY EXPECTED FDA
WILL GRANT EMERGENCY USE
AUTHORIZATION FOR THIS DRUG
REMDESIVIR.
REMDESIVIR. WHAT ARE YOU HEARING ABOUT HOW
QUICKLY THAT MAY BE?
>> SAVANNAH, LET ME FIRST SAY ON
BEHALF OF EVERYONE AT GILEAD,
THANKING EVERYBODY THAT BROUGHT
REMDESIVIR TO THIS POINT.
MOST IMPORTANTLY THE PATIENTS
AND CAREGIVERS THAT WORKED WITH
US IN CLINICAL TRIALS.
EQUALLY NOW THAT WE HAVE THE
DATA DR. FAUCI ARTICULATED THIS
WEEK FROM THE TRIAL, WE’RE
MOVING VERY QUICKLY WITH THE
FDA.
FDA. IN FACT, THE COLLABORATION WITH
THE FDA AND WITH COMMISSIONER
AND THE TEAM HAS BEEN TERRIFIC.
I EXPECT THEY ARE GOING TO ACT
VERY QUICKLY, AND WE ARE
PREPARED AS A COMPANY TO MAKE
SURE WE GET THIS MEDICINE TO AS
MANY PATIENTS AS POSSIBLE AS
SOON AS POSSIBLE AFTER THAT
APPROVAL.
APPROVAL. >> WELL, EVERYONE IS, OF COURSE,
UNDERSTANDABLY ENCOURAGED BY
THIS NEWS BUT AS DR. FAUCI WAS
QUICK TO REMIND US, IT’S NOT A
KNOCKOUT PUNCH, IT’S NOT A
MIRACLE DRUG.
MIRACLE DRUG. IT DID IMPROVE OUTCOMES BY 30%
FOR SEVERELY ILL PATIENTS.
WHAT IS THE IMPLICATION OF THAT?
>> I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO
NOTE THIS IS A MEDICINE FOR THE
MOST SEVERE PATIENTS.
THIS IS FOR HOSPITALIZED
PATIENTS.
PATIENTS. THIS IS FOR PATIENTS THAT HAVE
REALLY PROGRESSED VERY, VERY
ADVANCED IN THEIR DISEASE.
WHAT WE SEE HERE IS REALLY, OF
COURSE, NOT A CURE BUT A VERY,
VERY SIGNIFICANT AND IMPORTANT
TREATMENT FOR PATIENTS.
SO WHAT THE DATA SHOWED AND WHAT
DR. FAUCI SPOKE TO THIS WEEK IS
THAT WE CAN SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE
THE TIME IT TAKES FOR PATIENTS
TO GET BETTER.
THAT’S VERY IMPORTANT IN THE
HOSPITAL SETTING, THE ABILITY TO
GET PATIENTS OUT OF THE HOSPITAL
AND HOME TO THE LOVED ONES IS
VERY IMPORTANT.
VERY IMPORTANT. THE HOSPITAL SYSTEMS ARE
OVERTAXED AT THIS TIME.
IT ALLOWS HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS TO
GET BACK TO TREATING THE
PATIENTS THAT ARE IN NEED.
SO THIS IS A STARTING POINT, AND
WE’RE NOT DONE.
WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO SEE HOW
WE CAN EXPAND REMDESIVIR TO MORE
PATIENT POPULATIONS.
PATIENT POPULATIONS. CLEARLY WITH OTHER MEDICINES AND
VACCINES TO COME, THIS IS PART,
I THINK, THE BEGINNING OF OUR
ABILITY TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON
THIS DEVASTATING VIRUS.
>>> NOW, AS I UNDERSTAND IT,
THIS IS A VERY COMPLEX AND
LENGTHY MANUFACTURING PROCESS
FOR THIS DRUG.
IT’S ADMINISTERED INTRAVENOUSLY
IN THE HOSPITAL SETTING.
HOW MUCH OF IT DO YOU HAVE?
HOW QUICKLY CAN YOU GET IT OUT
TO PATIENTS ONCE THE FDA
AUTHORIZES IT?
AUTHORIZES IT? >> WELL, I’M REALLY PROUD OF THE
COLLEAGUES AT GILEAD.
WHEN WE FIRST BECAME AWARE OF
THIS VIRUS IN JANUARY, FIRST OF
ALL, WE PUT OUR DECADES OF
ANTIVIRAL EXPERIENCE TO WORK,
THAT SAME EXPERIENCE THAT WAS
EFFECTIVE IN TURNING HIV INTO A
CHRONIC ILLNESS AND CURING
HEPATITIS C.
HEPATITIS C. WE WERE PREPARED AND READY FOR
THIS VIRUS BECAUSE OF SOME OF
THE WORK WE’VE DONE WITH
REMDESIVIR FOR THE PAST DECADE.
AT THAT SAME TIME WE PUT
REMDESIVIR IN CLINICAL TRIALS,
WE ALSO MADE THE DECISION BEFORE
KNOWING WHAT WAS GOING TO BE
EFFECTIVE TO EXPAND OUR CAPACITY
KNOWING THE GLOBAL CRISIS AND
KNOWING WE WOULD HAVE TO BE
READY IN THE EVENT THIS HAS
TURNED OUT TO BE EFFECTIVE FOR
PATIENTS.
PATIENTS. SO WE HAVE GONE FROM AROUND
5,000 TREATMENT COURSES TO TODAY
ALMOST 100,000 TREATMENT
COURSES.
COURSES. BECAUSE OF OUR INVESTMENTS
EARLY, WE THINK WE WILL GET TO
MILLIONS OF TREATMENT COURSES BY
THE END OF THE YEAR.
SO THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
OUR SCIENCES HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVE
AT REDUCING THE TIME IT TAKES TO
MAKE THIS MEDICINE.
BUT IT IS, AS YOU SAY, YOU KNOW,
A SOPHISTICATED CHEMICAL PROCESS
THAT TAKES TIME.
>> LET’S TALK ABOUT COST AND
AFFORDABILITY.
AFFORDABILITY. I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE DONATED THE
FIRST $1.5 MILLION DOSES OF THIS
MEDICINE.
MEDICINE. GOING FORWARD HOW WILL YOU
ENSURE IT IS AFFORDABLE AND
SOMETHING THAT CAN REACH NOT
JUST THIS COUNTRY BUT A GLOBAL
POPULATION.
POPULATION. >> GILEAD, THERE WASN’T A
QUESTION AT THE COMPANY WHEN WE
MADE THE DECISION TO DONATE THE
ENTIRETY OF EVERYTHING IN OUR
SUPPLY CHAIN TODAY.
WE UNDERSTAND OUR RESPONSIBILITY
HERE.
HERE. OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO GET THIS
MEDICINE IN THE HANDS OF AS MANY
PATIENTS AS POSSIBLE, AND REALLY
TRY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THIS
PANDEMIC.
PANDEMIC. SO WE WILL CONTINUE WITH THAT
SAME SPIRIT AND THAT SAME
MENTALITY AS WE GO FROM HUNDREDS
OF THOUSANDS OF DOSES TO
MILLIONS OF DOSES.
I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT WE’RE ALL
FOCUSED ON MAKING SURE THAT WE
MAKE THIS ACCESSIBLE AND
AFFORDABLE TO PATIENTS AROUND
THE GLOBE.
THE GLOBE. THAT’S WHAT’S GOING TO DRIVE US,
AND WE TAKE OUR RESPONSIBILITY
VERY SERIOUSLY HERE.
>> I AM NO SCIENTIST, AND
PERHAPS THIS NEXT QUESTION WILL
SHOW IT, BUT WE MENTIONED TO
REMDESIVIR IS REALLY FOR THE
MOST SEVERELY ILL.
IS THERE ANY APPLICATION, ANY
RESEARCH BEING DONE TO SEE IF
WHAT WORKS IN A LATER STAGE OF
THE DISEASE COULD WORK EARLIER
SO THAT THERE WOULD BE A MORE --
AN EARLY INTERVENTION?
>> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. THE RESULTS ANNOUNCED THIS WEEK
ON THE MEDICINE REMDESIVIR
SHOWED THE MEDICINE IS EFFECTIVE
IN REDUCING THE COURSE OF THE
ILLNESS, AND WE ALSO SHOWED, BY
THE WAY, THAT MANY PATIENTS CAN
BENEFIT FROM ONLY FIVE DAYS OF
IV TREATMENT VERSUS TEN DAYS OF
IV TREATMENT.
IV TREATMENT. IT’S ALSO VERY IMPORTANT FOR
PATIENTS IN THE HEALTH CARE
SYSTEM.
SYSTEM. THAT WAS PREDOMINANTLY IN THE
SEVERE PATIENT POPULATION.
SO WE ALSO HAVE OTHER STUDIES
THAT ARE UNDER WAY RIGHT NOW
THAT WILL LOOK AT BRINGING IT TO
IF YOU LIKE MORE MODERATE
HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS.
HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS. AND WE’LL LOOK AT DIFFERENT WAYS
OF POTENTIALLY DELIVERING THIS
MEDICINE TO PATIENTS.
WE’RE LOOKING AT THE POSSIBILITY
OF TAKING THIS MEDICINE AND
DELIVERING IT THROUGH A
SUBCUTANEOUS VERSION OR PERHAPS
AN ORAL INHALED VERSION WITH THE
INTENTION OF TREATING PATIENTS
EARLIER, EARLIER IN THE HOSPITAL
SETTING AND PERHAPS OUTSIDE OF
THE HOSPITAL SETTING.
OUR SCIENTISTS ARE HARD AT WORK
TO SEE -- NOW THAT WE KNOW THIS
MEDICINE HAS AN IMPACT ON
PATIENTS, IF WE CAN BRING IT
EARLIER INTO THE DISEASE AND
HAVE OUR COMMITMENT WE’LL WORK
AS HARD AS WE CAN ON THAT.
>> FINALLY, JUST A THOUGHT.
THESE ARE SUCH EXTRAORDINARY
TIMES.
TIMES. WE’RE IN THE MIDST OF A
PANDEMIC.
PANDEMIC. HUMANITY IS LITERALLY DEPENDING
ON COMPANIES LIKE YOURS.
AND I THINK IT’S FAIR TO SAY
SOME PEOPLE DOV TRUST ISSUES
WITH PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES.
HOW ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT THAT
RESPONSIBILITY IN THIS CONTEXT?
>> WELL, YOU KNOW, SAVANNAH,
I’VE BEEN WORKING IN THIS
BIOPHARMA RESEARCH INDUSTRY FOR
A LONG TIME.
I’M VERY PROUD OF WHAT GILEAD
HAS DONE OVER THE PAST TWO
DECADES WITH HIV, WITH HEPATITIS
C, AND NOW TAKING THAT SAME SIGN
SCIENTIFIC AND MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE
AND BRINGING IT INTO CANCER
CURES AND RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS.
WE TAKE IT VERY SERIOUSLY.
I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT WE
UNDERSTAND OUR ROLE HERE.
BY THE WAY, I’M SO IMPRESSED
WITH THE COLLEAGUES ACROSS THE
BIOPHARMA RESEARCH INDUSTRY.
EVERYONE HAS DROPPED ON WHAT
THEY ARE DOING, REGARDLESS OF
WHETHER THEY ARE WORKING ON
VACCINES, IT’S IMPRESSIVE TO
SEE.
SEE. LET ME SAY, I FEEL VERY
PRIVILEGED TO WORK WITH THE
COLLEAGUES AT GILEAD.
I’M HUMBLED BY THE SUCCESS OF
THEIR EFFORTS OVER MANY DECADES.
IT’S A REAL PRIVILEGE.
WE’LL CONTINUE TO SHOW WE CAN
MAKE A DIFFERENCE WITH THIS
PANDEMIC IN THE FUTURE.
>> WELL, I KNOW ALL OF US
AMERICANS ARE SO GRATEFUL FOR
THE WORK OF NOT JUST OUR HEALTH
CARE WORKERS BUT OUR SMART
SCIENTISTS AND RESEARCHERS WHO
ARE DOING THIS INCREDIBLE
LIFESAVING WORK.
LIFESAVING WORK. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME THIS
MORNING, MR. O’DAY, AND WE WISH
YOU GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FUTURE