London (CNN Business) AstraZeneca has approached rival drugmaker Gilead about a potential merger, according to a Bloomberg report. AstraZeneca has secured production capacity to make 2 billion doses of a potential vaccine, while the experimental Gilead drug remdesivir has been approved by the US government to treat hospitalized patients with severe Covid-19. AstraZeneca AZN FTSE 100 UKX Gilead GILD Shares indropped by more than 2% in London even as theindex rose after Bloomberg reported the UK-based company made a preliminary approach last month to US firm. Bloomberg cautioned that AstraZeneca did not specify any financial terms for a deal. Its report also said that Gilead discussed the idea with advisers, but the companies were not in formal discussions.

Source: CNN June 08, 2020 10:41 UTC