Lawmakers Call for GAO Review of Government’s Role in Remdesivir Development

Two Democratic lawmakers called on the Government Accountability Office to review the federal government’s investment into research and development of Gilead Sciences’ remdesivir for treatment of COVID-19.

In a letter to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) noted that remdesivir received about $70 million in federal funding during its development, but despite that investment the government is expected to spend billions of dollars to purchase the drug.

The lawmakers want the GAO to look into the financial or technical contributions federal agencies made to the drug’s development and the legal rights the agencies have based on their  contributions.

Read the letter here: www.fdanews.com/07-28-20-GAOremdesivirrequest.pdf.