[Snorlax94]

My guess is the GOP's preferred strategy will be to let private companies chart their own path with businesses conducting their own business risk assessment.   The profit potential and PR benefits are clear enough for most companies without the government trying to pick winners.

Gilead Sciences, makers of remdesivir, make about $22 Billion in revenue each year.  A Merrill analyst sees remdesivir sales being $2.5 Billion for covid-19, total, for its lifetime. So, best case, it boosts revenues about 10% for one year — *IF* IT WORKS.

Additionally, drug firms don’t generally invest a ton inventing new drugs vs. marketing existing ones, and reformulating or repurposing existing ones. Given the federal deficit this year may be around $5 Trillion or more, it seems like they could spend a few million or billion to encourage more research to increase the odds of shortening the recession. If we can shorten the recession by just 1 quarter, that could boost 2021 gdp by hundreds of billions of dollars.


From the Motley Fool:
Some analysts, such as Geoff Meacham of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said in February that the total upside for remdesivir isn't that impressive and won't do much to change Gilead's long-term financial outlook. He predicted that total COVID-19-related remdesivir sales would reach a one-time figure of just $2.5 billion.

The optimal dosing schedule for remdesivir is still uncertain, with current clinical tests experimenting with a five-day and 10-day treatment schedule, although doctors have had success in administered a single large dose of the drug as well. Analysts from Morgan Stanley predicted that the company could charge as little at $260 per treatment plan in China, which would be the main market for remdesivir (at least right now). If one assumes that the nearly 18,000 currently diagnosed COVID-19 patients in Hubei province all take a full treatment plan of remdesivir when (or if) it becomes available, that adds up to just $4.7 million in potential revenue if the virus doesn't drastically spread further. 

[Snorlax94]

My guess is the GOP's preferred strategy will be to let private companies chart their own path with businesses conducting their own business risk assessment.   The profit potential and PR benefits are clear enough for most companies without the government trying to pick winners.

Gilead Sciences, makers of remdesivir, make about $22 Billion in revenue each year.  A Merrill analyst sees remdesivir sales being $2.5 Billion for covid-19, total, for its lifetime. So, best case, it boosts revenues about 10% for one year — *IF* IT WORKS.

Additionally, drug firms don’t generally invest a ton inventing new drugs vs. marketing existing ones, and reformulating or repurposing existing ones. Given the federal deficit this year may be around $5 Trillion or more, it seems like they could spend a few million or billion to encourage more research to increase the odds of shortening the recession. If we can shorten the recession by just 1 quarter, that could boost 2021 gdp by hundreds of billions of dollars.


From the Motley Fool:
Some analysts, such as Geoff Meacham of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said in February that the total upside for remdesivir isn't that impressive and won't do much to change Gilead's long-term financial outlook. He predicted that total COVID-19-related remdesivir sales would reach a one-time figure of just $2.5 billion.

The optimal dosing schedule for remdesivir is still uncertain, with current clinical tests experimenting with a five-day and 10-day treatment schedule, although doctors have had success in administered a single large dose of the drug as well. Analysts from Morgan Stanley predicted that the company could charge as little at $260 per treatment plan in China, which would be the main market for remdesivir (at least right now). If one assumes that the nearly 18,000 currently diagnosed COVID-19 patients in Hubei province all take a full treatment plan of remdesivir when (or if) it becomes available, that adds up to just $4.7 million in potential revenue if the virus doesn't drastically spread further.