UK coronavirus variant shouldn't impact remdesivir effectiveness, Gilead CEO says

As experts warn about the high transmissibility of a strain of coronavirus first detected in the U.K. several weeks ago, many have voiced concern about whether currently-approved vaccines and treatments will remain effective.

The U.K. variant, identified as B.1.1.7, has showed to be more transmissible, but it is not believed to cause more severe illness than the previously identified coronavirus. Pfizer and BioNTech has vouched for the effectiveness of their vaccine against the variant, and have touted the "flexibility" of mRNA technology should a tweak be needed. But previously, experts have said that therapeutics are far more complicated to develop than vaccines. Research is ongoing, but for now, Gilead Sciences CEO Daniel O’Day has voiced confidence in remdesivir’s ability to remain effective against the U.K. coronavirus strain because of the way it works.