The U.S. government's current supply of COVID-19 drug remdesivir will run out at the end of the month, according to Dr. Robert Kadlec, a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) official. 

Kadlec said they're waiting to hear from Gilead Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company that produces the drug. "We're kind of not in negotiations, but in discussions with Gilead as they project what the availability of their product will be," he added. 

The government's last shipment of the drug will go out the week of June 29. Gilead Sciences is ramping up to make more, but it's unclear how much will be available this summer, according to CNN.  

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave emergency authorization for remdesivir last month. A report of the New England Journal of Medicine shows that two-thirds of a small group of severely ill COVID-19 patients saw their condition improve after treatment with remdesivir. 

Right now there is a shortage of medicine for patients confirmed with COVID-19. 

"We learned from that first day's shipment that we needed to find a better way to do it," Dr. John Redd, an HHS official, said in an interview with CNN. "So we took a pause and shifted to a better, improved model that targets exactly where the patients are, and where they're currently receiving treatment." 

However, previous research has shown that remdesivir alone will not be enough to cure patients. An article in the New England Journal of Medicine also mentioned that it is difficult to interpret the results since they do not include a comparison to a control group, the patient numbers were small, the details being disclosed were limited, and the follow-up time was relatively short.

Another analysis in the same publication shows that the drug shortened the course of illness from an average of 15 days to about 11 days. "Preliminary results of this trial suggest that a 10-day course of remdesivir was superior to a placebo in the treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID-19," the researchers wrote. But it was not a cure and it did not act quickly.