Coronavirus Fever
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Coronavirus outbreak causes face mask shortage
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Coronavirus and the economy 16 videos
Coronavirus Fever
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Coronavirus outbreak causes face mask shortage
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WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 21: People pass a sign that reads "Face Mask Required" in a mall as COVID-19 cases surge in the city on December 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser reinstated the city's indoor mask mandate at 6am on Tuesday and announced a vaccination mandate for government employees after COVID-19 case numbers have surged to a new high. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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NORTH CHARLESTON, SC - JANUARY 14: (L-R) Neil Cavuto and Maria Bartiromo, moderators of the Fox Business Network Republican presidential debate speak to the audience on stage at the North Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Center prior to the debate on January 14, 2016 in North Charleston, South Carolina. The sixth Republican debate is held in two parts, one main debate for the top seven candidates, and another for three other candidates lower in the current polls. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 22: National Economic Council Director Brian Deese speaks during a White House news briefing, conducted by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House January 22, 2021 in Washington, DC. Psaki and Deese discussed various topics including the economic crisis that was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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New York CNN Business  — 

Shares of American biotech firm Gilead Sciences rose nearly 5% Monday after an official from the World Health Organization said that Gilead’s drug remdesivir is showing signs that it may be able to help treat the deadly coronavirus.

Gilead Sciences (GILD) was the second-best performing stock in the S&P 500 and was just one of two stocks in the Nasdaq-100 that was trading higher on Monday, when the Dow plunged more than 1,000 points due to fears about the disease spreading to Italy, South Korea and Iran.

“There is only one drug right now that we think may have real efficacy and that’s remdesivir,” Bruce Aylward, an assistant director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), said at a press conference in Beijing.

WHO officials added that clinical trials for remdesivir in humans are now taking place and results could be available within weeks.

Gilead Sciences confirmed in an e-mail to CNN Business that that it is working with health authorities in China on two trials for patients who have been infected with Covid-19, the official name of this particular strain of coronavirus.

“The two studies – one in patients with severe disease and another in patients with moderate disease – are currently enrolling participants and we anticipate results in April,” the Gilead Sciences spokesman said.

Gilead Sciences also said earlier this month that it has been working with Chinese health authorities to see if remdesivir, an experimental drug that has been used to treat the Ebola virus, can combat coronavirus symptoms.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 24: A disinfection professional wears protective gear spray anti-septic solution against the coronavirus (COVID-19) at a traditional market on February 24, 2020 in Seoul, South Korea. South Korea has raised the coronavirus alert to the "highest level" as confirmed case numbers keep rising. Government reported 161 new cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) bringing the total number of infections in the nation to 763, with the potentially fatal illness spreading fast across the country. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 24: A disinfection professional wears protective gear spray anti-septic solution against the coronavirus (COVID-19) at a traditional market on February 24, 2020 in Seoul, South Korea. South Korea has raised the coronavirus alert to the "highest level" as confirmed case numbers keep rising. Government reported 161 new cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) bringing the total number of infections in the nation to 763, with the potentially fatal illness spreading fast across the country. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

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The company also said in a statement a few weeks ago that remdesivir has demonstrated some success in treating MERS and SARS, two viruses similar to the Wuhan coronavirus, in animals.

Gilead Sciences is not the only drug firm hoping to find a successful treatment for the coronavirus. Pharmaceutical giants Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are also working on vaccines.

Biotech company AbbVie (ABBV) has said that it has seen promising results for treatment using a mixture of two of its HIV medications and Tamiflu, which is made by Swiss pharma giant Roche (RHHBF) and Japan’s Chugai Pharmaceutical Co (CHGCY).

Smaller drug companies Moderna (MRNA), Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO) and Novavax (NVAX) are also working on treatments.