Gilead Sciences Inc's remdesivir is at the forefront in the fight against the novel coronavirus as one of the first drugs to have shown to be effective in countering COVID-19 in human trials.
On Thursday, the US Food and Drug Administration approved remdesivir for treating patients hospitalized with COVID-19, making it the first and only drug approved for the disease.
The following is a list of countries or regions that have approved, recommended or taken action in support of the antiviral drug for patients with the illness (in chronological order):
United States (Oct-22): FDA approves drug for treating patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
Japan (May-07) Japan approved remdesivir for COVID-19 - the country's first officially authorized drug to tackle the disease.
United Kingdom (May-26): Agrees to provide remdesivir to certain COVID-19 patients.
South Korea (May-29; Jun-26): Approves remdesivir import; adds remdesivir to coronavirus treatment guidelines.
Taiwan (May-30): Approves remdesivir in patients with severe COVID-19, says efficacy and safety of remdesivir have been supported by preliminary evidence.
India (Jun-01): Approves emergency use of remdesivir
Singapore (Jun-10): Approves remdesivir for severely ill COVID-19 patients.
Israel (Jun-16): Accepts Gilead's donation of remdesivir, to treat moderately and critically ill patients.
European Union (Jul-03): Gives conditional approval for the use of remdesivir in severe COVID-19 patients, making it the region's first therapy to be authorized to treat the virus.
Australia (Jul-10): Grants provisional approval to use remdesivir as a treatment option for adults and adolescent patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms and have been hospitalised.