Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt urged federal agencies to exercise special legal authority to increase the availability of Remdesivir, a drug showing results in reducing hospitalization and mortality from COVID-19.

Schmidt, along with a bipartisan coalition of 33 other state and territory attorneys general, requested the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration use their authority under a 40-year-old federal statute to prevent manufacturing bottlenecks and ensure that Americans can afford the drug and have reasonable access to a sufficient supply. The statute was enacted in 1980 through legislation sponsored by then-U.S. Senator Bob Dole. Schmidt says we are in unsettled times, and Americans must be assured of meaningful access to remedies that can save lives.