Patients of Fayetteville-based health system to receive remdesivir to treat COVID-19

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — A Fayetteville-based health system is set to receive a new drug that is able to treat COVID-19.

Cape Fear Valley said Friday they will receive remdesivir from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

Officials at UNC-Chapel Hill, which helped in the development of the drug, say treatment using remdesivir cut the time to recovery from COVID-19. Remdesivir was given emergency clearance by the FDA for the treatment of the coronavirus.

The company that makes the antiviral drug, California-based Gilead Sciences, has said it is donating its entire current stockpile to help in the U.S. pandemic response.

Gilead has donated 607,000 vials of remdesivir for use throughout the country.

The first patients in the Cape Fear Valley Health System, which includes Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville, will receive the drug next week, officials said.

“We are pleased to have remdesivir available for our hospitalized COVID-19 patients,” Christopher Tart, PharmD, Vice President of Professional Services for Cape Fear Valley, said in a news release.