The FDA granted emergency use authorization May 1 to Gilead's drug remdesivir for use in treating COVID-19.
The decision was based on a study conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease that tested the drug in more than 1,000 patients and found it caused a 31 percent faster recovery time compared to a placebo, STAT reported.
The emergency use authorization allows physicians to treat COVID-19 patients with the drug only during the time COVID-19 is declared a public health emergency in the U.S.
Earlier this week, Gilead released results from its own clinical trial of remdesivir involving 397 patients with severe COVID-19 infection that showed at least 50 percent of patients treated with a five-day dosage of remdesivir improved.
Remdesivir is an intravenous drug that works by targeting the system coronaviruses use to replicate themselves. It was tested to treat Ebola but hasn't been officially approved in any country.