The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said it would provide remdesivir, an experimental treatment for Covid-19 developed by Gilead Sciences, to local hospitals from Wednesday.

According to the KCDC, hospitals will use the drug for COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms, including those that need oxygen treatment, such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), due to pneumonia symptoms.

The dose and duration of treatment are six vials for five days, while physicians may decide to extend five more days of treatment.

The drug did not receive official approval in Korea, but the company obtained a special go-ahead from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety under an exceptional procedure.

Current regulations allow the minister of food and drug safety to approve the import of drugs that are not locally approved at the request of the relevant ministries when coping with public health crises, such as the epidemic of infectious diseases.

"We plan to do our best to provide treatments and secure additional volumes of remdesivir in cooperation with Gilead Sciences Korea," KCDC Director Jung Eun-Kyeong said.

Under the initial agreement, Gilead Science Korea will supply the drug free of charge this month, and negotiate a sale price from August.

"Until July, the company will be providing the drug like a donation," a Gilead Science Korea spokesperson told Korea Biomedical Review. "The company plans to sell the product globally from August."

Gilead Science CEO Daniel O'Day announced on Wednesday that the company had set a price tag of $390 for the drug. And its Korean offshoot is likely to negotiate with the government based on the price.

As most Covid-19 patients receive remdesivir treatment and get six vials of treatment for five days, each patient's treatment is expected to amount to about $2,340.

"Part of the intent behind our decision was to remove the need for country-by-country negotiations on price," O'Day said. "We discounted the price to a level that is affordable for developed countries with the lowest purchasing power."

We will offer this price to developed countries where remdesivir has been approved for use, he added.

O'Day stressed that Gilead remains focused on increasing supplies to meet the high global demand and expected its investment in the development and manufacture of remdesivir would exceed $1 billion by the end of this year.