Japan has approved Gilead Sciences Inc’s remdesivir as a treatment for Covid-19, making it the country’s first officially authorised drug to tackle the coronavirus disease.

Japan reached the decision just three days after the US drugmaker filed for fast-track approval for the treatment.

“There has so far been no coronavirus medicine available here so it is a significant step for us to approve this drug,” a Japanese health ministry official said at a press briefing. Remdesivir will be given to patients with severe Covid-19 symptoms, he added.

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