Coronavirus: Trump says he's offered Boris Johnson help from 'genius' doctors from US drug companies

When president Donald Trump found out prime minister Boris Johnson had been rushed to intensive care due to coronavirus symptoms, he wanted to help out his “very good friend”.

So he asked four US drug companies to contact the PM’s doctors and offer them experimental drugs.

In a press conference on Monday, Trump revealed that the companies offered a “very complex treatment of things they’ve just recently developed” and they’ve already had meetings with Johnson’s doctors.

Trump said:

I’ve asked two of the leading [drug companies] … to contact London immediately. They’re major companies – more than major in size, they’re genius – and I talk with four of them today. They speak a language that most people don’t understand. But I understand something… they’ve really advanced therapeutics and therapeutically and they have arrived in London already. We’ll see if we can be of help.

He later added:

They’re there and they’re ready. I spoke with four [drug companies] … but the people are the greatest in the world so they’re at the hospital so we’ll see. They have everything with them, should it be needed.

Trump did not name the four US drug companies but he previously mentioned Amgen, Genetech, Gilead, and Regeneron in the same press conference.

He’s also consistently promoted the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine in combination with an antibiotic, azithromycin. This is despite his own health officials cautioning they have no proof the combination is effective.

Trump added:

The London office has whatever they need. We’ll see if we can be of help. We’ve contacted all of Boris’s doctors, and we’ll see what is going to take place, but they are ready to go.

Boris Johnson was rushed to intensive care at St Thomas’ hospital in London on Monday evening after his coronavirus symptoms had worsened.

He reportedly remains conscious but the move was a precaution in case his condition worsened and he needed a ventilator.

A spokesperson for Number 10 Downing Street said:

Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the prime minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the intensive care unit at the hospital. The prime minister has asked foreign secretary Dominic Raab, who is the first secretary of state, to deputise for him where necessary. The PM is receiving excellent care, and thanks all NHS staff for their hard work and dedication.

The PM’s hospitalisation comes 11 days after he developed a cough and high temperature – symptoms of Covid-19.

At the time of writing, 51,608 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK and sadly 5,373 have died.