Antiviral drug remdesivir shortens time to recover from pandemic virus, top U.S. health official says
Dr. Anthony Fauci says drug reduced time it takes patients to recover by 31%
The Associated Press · Posted: Apr 29, 2020 3:34 PM ET | Last Updated: 1 hour ago
A top U.S. health official said Gilead Sciences Inc's experimental antiviral drug remdesivir is likely to become the standard of care for COVID-19 after early results from a key clinical trial on Wednesday showed it helped certain patients recover more quickly from the illness caused by the coronavirus.
The study, run by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, tested remdesivir versus usual care in 1,063 hospitalized coronavirus patients around the world. At the White House, NIH's Dr. Anthony Fauci said the drug reduced the time it takes patients to recover by 31 per cent — 11 days on average versus 15 days for those just given usual care.
Gilead earlier on Wednesday said remdesivir helped improve outcomes for patients with COVID-19 in the government-run trial, and provided additional data suggesting it worked better when given earlier in the course of illness. The statement sent its shares up seven per cent on the Nasdaq.
"The data shows that remdesivir has a clear cut significant positive effect in diminishing the time to recover. This is really quite important," Fauci told reporters at the White House, likening it to a moment in 1986 "when we were struggling for drugs for HIV and we had nothing."
"This will be the standard of care," Fauci predicted, adding, "The FDA, literally as we speak, is working with Gilead to figure out mechanisms to make this easily available to those who need it."
Several studies have painted a mixed picture of its effectiveness, and Fauci cautioned that the full data still needs to be analyzed.
"Although with 31 per cent improvement doesn't seem like a knockout 100 per cent, it is a very important proof of concept, because what it is proven is that a drug can block this virus."
Coronavirus: The latest in drug treatment and vaccine development |
