UK emergency remdesivir supplies adequate to treat COVID-19, official says

LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) - Britain has adequate supplies of Gilead's remdesivir for emergency use to treat hospitalised COVID-19 patients, England's deputy chief medical officer said on Wednesday, though he warned of potential difficulties securing future supplies.

"I judge us to have adequate stocks," Jonathan Van-Tam, deputy chief medical officer and lead for the Department for Health and Social Care, told a parliamentary hearing.

He said brand new drugs such as remdesivir were likely to be in "relatively short supply in the first instance" compared with existing generic ones being used such as dexamethasone.

This month, the government said it had 240,000 doses of dexamethasone in stock and on order after a preliminary trial showed it reduced mortality in the most severe COVID-19 cases. (Reporting by Alistair Smout and Josephine Mason; Editing by Kevin Liffey)