Coronavirus

Health agency monitoring development of new American drug

The Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) is monitoring the latest developments around Ebola antiviral drug remdesivir, after U.S. regulators have greenlit its use in experimental trials on severe Covid-19 patients. The approval for its use followed a government-backed study involving 1,063 people, which showed that remdesivir shortened recovery time by 31 percent — an average of about four days. 

The Brazilian agency has contacted U.S. pharmaceutical company Gilead, which owns remdesivir. “Within the next few days, we will meet with the manufacturer to verify the interest and viability of supplying Brazil with the drug,” the agency said in a statement.

According to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University, Covid-19 has killed over 240,000 people worldwide —including 6,329 people in Brazil.

Augusta Saraiva

Augusta is a Brazilian journalism student at Northwestern University

Recent Posts

Explaining Brazil #291: Lula’s farming feuds

The relationship between farmers and the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva administration is by no…

1 day ago

The legacy of Ayrton Senna, 30 years on

Pelé, Ronaldo, Zico, Marta … All of Brazil’s truly immortal sporting icons are footballers, that…

1 day ago

Brazil and Paraguay deadlocked over Itaipu dam

Speaking before a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Chief of Staff Rui Costa admitted that Brazil…

2 days ago

Brazil’s job market remains strong despite unemployment uptick

New job market data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) show the…

2 days ago

Brazil wants to know more about its domestic workers

Brazil officially had 5.83 million domestic workers in 2022 — almost the entire population of…

2 days ago

Brazil’s latest Covid vaccine purchase comes too late

Brazil’s Ministry of Health this month announced a purchase of 12.5 million doses of Moderna’s…

3 days ago