Xinhua
29 May 2020, 13:21 GMT+10
SEOUL, May 29 (Xinhua) -- South Korea will push for the special import of an experimental antiviral drug remdesivir to treat COVID-19 patients, the health authorities said Friday.
Jeong Eun-kyeong, chief of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), told a press briefing that the central clinical review board, composed of a group of local infectious disease experts, evaluated the safety and efficacy of remdesivr.
Jeong said the review board agreed on the need to introduce remdesivir given that there is no other antiviral drug to treat COVID-19.
The KCDC planned to ask the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for the special import of remdesivir as an emergency COVID-19 medication.
Remdesivir, developed by U.S. biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, is an investigational antiviral medicine to treat critically-ill COVID-19 patients in hospital.
It is given to patients through a vein injection once a day for up to 10 days. It was shown in clinical trials to shorten the recovery time for certain patients.
Get a daily dose of North Korea Times news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to North Korea Times.
More InformationWestern support for Israel's right to strike Iran backs up a pattern of pre-emptive violence that critics say is further eroding international...
OTTAWA, Canada: Canada may boost its counter-tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from the U.S. if a comprehensive trade agreement...
BANGKOK, Thailand: Thailand's government is facing its biggest crisis in nearly a year, as Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's...
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. President Donald Trump how bowed to pro-Israel elements in his administration and Congress, announcing that the...
ZURICH, Switzerland: The Swiss National Bank (SNB) lowered its key interest rate to zero percent on June 19 to respond to falling inflation,...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. government is preparing to revise its influential dietary advice, with a significant shift: dropping the...
ZURICH, Switzerland: A wave of central banks across Europe surprised markets last week by lowering interest rates, responding to easing...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. economy is performing reasonably well, but Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell faces a difficult decision...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump has granted TikTok another reprieve, extending the deadline for its Chinese parent company,...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: As the global weight-loss market explodes, drugmakers are now racing to solve a less visible problem: protecting...
HAYWARD, California: In a significant step toward its commercial debut, Amazon-owned Zoox has unveiled its first factory dedicated...
SAO PAULO, Brazil: Brazil is taking confident steps to restore its dominance in global poultry exports after declaring its commercial...