Brussels, Oct 9 (IANS): The European Commission has signed a joint procurement framework contract with the pharmaceutical company Gilead for the supply of up to 500,000 treatment courses of Remdesivir against the Covid-19 pandemic, according to an official statement.

In a statement on Thursday, the Commission announced that there were 36 signatories of the Joint Procurement Agreement, including all EU countries, the EEA countries of Norway and Iceland, the UK, as well as six candidate countries and potential candidates -- Albania, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Under the framework, all participating countries can now place their orders to procure Remdesivir directly.

At this stage, Remdesivir is the only medicine with a conditional marketing authorisation in the EU for the treatment of Covid-19 patients needing oxygen supply.

In the statement, Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said: "Today we secure access to Remdesivir for the treatment of up to 500,000 patients in need. We are leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to ensure that safe and efficient therapeutics are available against Covid-19.

"Through our EU Joint Procurements, we are empowering countries across Europe to join forces and get access to vital equipment and medicines. We are always stronger together, and this is European solidarity in action against Covid-19."

The signature of this joint procurement framework contract follows the Commission's contract with Gilead to secure 33,380 treatment courses of Remdisivir that have been distributed across the EU and the UK since August.

This contract was financed from the Commission's Emergency Support Instrument (ESI), worth a total of 70 million euros.