U.S. emergency approval broadens use of Gilead's COVID-19 drug remdesivir

FILE PHOTO: Vials of investigational coronavirus disease (COVID-19) treatment drug remdesivir are capped at a Gilead Sciences facility in La Verne, California, U.S. March 18, 2020. Picture taken March 18, 2020. Gilead Sciences Inc/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Gilead Science Inc's antiviral drug remdesivir was granted emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for COVID-19 on Friday, clearing the way for broader use of the drug in more hospitals around the United States.

During a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House with President Donald Trump, Gilead Chief Executive Daniel O'Day called the move an important first step and said the company was donating 1.5 million vials of the drug to help patients.