Biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences Inc (Nasdaq:GILD) announced on Friday that it is donating more than 2,000 vials of remdesivir to the Republic of Uganda to support response efforts to the Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) outbreak.

The intravenous antiviral therapy is being provided under compassionate use and Monitored Emergency Use of Unregistered and Investigational Interventions (MEURI) frameworks.

Gilead is also preparing additional support for requests from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the World Health Organization, and other partners, including remdesivir and the investigational oral antiviral obeldesivir, alongside planned clinical trials. The initiative reflects Gilead's decade-long engagement in outbreak response across Sub-Saharan Africa through emergency, compassionate, and investigational use donations, the company said.

Remdesivir has shown preclinical activity against multiple filoviruses but is not approved for filovirus disease in any country, and its safety and efficacy for the Bundibugyo strain have not been established. It is approved for COVID-19 treatment in approximately 50 countries and has been administered to more than 14.5 million patients globally, including over 8.1 million in low- and middle-income countries.

Gilead noted that remdesivir's clinical efficacy for Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease remains unproven and is being evaluated through ongoing studies.