: Gilead says its COVID-19 drug can help reduce deaths, shorten hospital stays

Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD said Tuesday that its COVID-19 drug can help reduce deaths and readmission rates among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and who received the drug, remdesivir, shortly after their hospital admission. That was regardless of disease severity and variant, said Gilead, which markets the drug as Veklury and based its findings on three studies. The treatment also led to fewer deaths among immunocompromised patients such as people living with cancer or HIV, the pharma company said. Gilead earlier this month reported another drop in Veklury sales. Shares of Gilead inched up 0.3% in the extended session Tuesday after ending the regular trading day down 0.1%.

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