If I recall, in addition to ignoring the patent, the Chinese company is taking the Gilead drug, repurposing it and then owning a new patent for the Corona virus...
To some extent the legal wrangling its irrelevant. China is likely to want large amounts of the drug, and they aren’t waiting. Presumably there will be a lawsuit and a settlement. Gilead has very little leverage in China, unless they are able to outproduce the home grown manufacturer.
Let's not forget that the US did that with the Anthrax vaccination.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2001/oct/23/anthrax.bus...
I think the federal government should buy or acquire by fiat the rights to produce remdesivir and contract, immediately, with multiple vendors to start mass production. If the trial pan out, the US alone may need enough to treat a few million people. If the trials don’t pan out, some money is lost.
(I’m not saying Gilead shouldn’t be fairly compensated. By all means, pay them a few billion dollars. But don’t allow them to extract $50k per case. And don’t allow them to delay widespread availability while negotiating.)
FWIW, China appears to be doing this right now. A Chinese company is manufacturing the drug now and is essentially ignoring the patent.