JAPAN APPROVES REMDESIVIR AS COVID-19 DRUG

TOKYO: Japan on Thursday approved Gilead Sciences Inc’s remdesivir as a treatment for Covid-19, making it the country’s first officially authorised drug to tackle the coronavirus disease. Japan reached the decision just 3 days after the US drugmaker filed for fast-track approval for the treatment. “There has so far been no coronavirus medicine available here so it is a significant step for us to approve this drug,” a health ministry official said at a press briefing. Remdesivir will be give to patients with severe Covid-19 symptoms, he added.