The U.S. government contributed research to a Gilead remdesivir patent — but didn’t get credit
Two documents dating back to 2015 shed further light on the role the federal government played in discovering remdesivir and its use in treating coronaviruses — work that has taken on new meaning as the Gilead Sciences (GILD) drug has gained global attention and an emergency use authorization from federal regulators to treat patients with Covid-19.
The first document was an application filed in September 2015 in which Gilead sought a U.S. patent for a using the compound for any number of coronavirus infections. Although the code Gilead assigned to the compound – GS-5734 – does not appear in the body of the application, experts who have reviewed the chemical structure say the compound is remdesivir. And Gilead could take that patent, which was issued last year, to the bank if its medicine ever becomes a viable business proposition for treating Covid-19 or any other illness.
