Gilead assessing Ebola drug as possible coronavirus treatment

Gilead Sciences Inc said on Thursday it was assessing whether its experimental Ebola treatment could be used to treat coronavirus infection. "Gilead is in active discussions with researchers and clinicians in the United States and China regarding the ongoing Wuhan coronavirus outbreak and the potential use of remdesivir as an investigational treatment," a company spokesman said in an emailed statement.

China put millions of people on lockdown on Thursday in two cities at the epicenter of a coronavirus outbreak that has killed 18 people and infected more than 630, as authorities around the world worked to prevent a global pandemic.