By ALEX HOGAN

Gilead Sciences’ experimental drug remdesivir has been gaining traction as a potential Covid-19 treatment, and late last week scored an emergency use authorization from federal regulators for it to be used in patients with the condition.

Preliminary data released last week from a closely watched trial run by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases showed that Covid-19 patients who were given remdesivir recovered faster than those who received a placebo.

Remdesivir was originally created as a general antiviral and was later tested in Ebola patients, though it did not perform well in a landmark trial. Watch the explainer above to learn how remdesivir works against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19.

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