EU promises speedy review of remdesivir

The European health regulator has vowed to conduct a speedy review of Gilead Sciences' potential COVID-19 drug, remdesivir, but says it has not yet received an application from the US drugmaker.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Friday its human medicines committee's (CHMP) timeline to assess the drug would be "reduced to the absolute minimum".

The announcement comes two weeks after the EMA head had told the European Parliament it may give an initial green light for sale of remdesivir as a COVID-19 treatment, fast-tracking the drug to market amid tight global competition for resources.

The United States, the world's biggest pharmaceutical market, earlier this month granted emergency-use authorisation for remdesivir, clearing the way for broader use of the drug, but is yet to approve it.

In Pakistan, a pharmaceutical company plans to import remdesivir from neighbouring Bangladesh, it said on Friday in a stock exchange filing.

The announcement by Searle Company Limited came a day after 56 virus deaths recorded by the south Asian nation, its highest toll in one day.

The firm said it had entered into an exclusive licensing and marketing agreement with Bangladesh's Beximco Pharmaceuticals , the first company in the world to introduce the generic variant of the drug.

"Searle Pharma is planning to import remdesivir in finished form (ready to use) to meet the country's urgent requirements," the company told the Pakistan Stock Exchange.

Pakistan's tally of infections stands at 64,000, with 1317 deaths, but authorities estimate the disease will not peak until June.