Remdesivir shows success in COVID-19 trial drug – Study

.Reveals 1000 experts around the globe contributed to success

A new study has revealed that remdesivir, a trial drug for the treatment of Coronavirus, otherwise refferred to as COVID-19, significantly reduces the time it takes for infected patients to recover.

According to a large, international study carried out by a team of experts, it revealed that remdesivir is more effective as compared with a placebo treatment.

Speaking during an interview, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said, “the data shows that remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery”.

He said that although a 31% improvement doesn’t seem like a knockout 100%, it is a very important proof of concept.

“What it has proven is that a drug can block this virus”, Fauci said.

Speaking further, Dr. Fauci disclosed that the NIAID-sponsored trial began on February 21.

According to him, about 1,090 participants from various sites around the world, including the U.S., Germany, Denmark, Spain, Greece and the UK contributed to the success of the COVID-19 trial drug.

He said: “The so-called primary end point of the study was patients’ time to recovery, and more specifically, their ability to be discharged from the hospital.

“The researchers used different metrics to measure improvement, depending on how sick a given patient was at the start of treatment.

“In addition to recovering more quickly, on average, fewer people in the remdesivir group than the placebo group died, though the result wasn’t statistically significant.

“The mortality rate”trended toward” 8% in the treatment group as compared with 11% in the placebo, although the data still requires further analysis”.

Dr. Fauci added that NIAID would have normally waited for several days to announce the results of the study, so that the final analyses could be completed.

“Whenever you have clear-cut evidence that a drug works, you have an ethical obligation to immediately let the people who are in the placebo group know so that they can have access.

“And all of the other trials that are taking place now have a new standard of care.

“As the research groups continue to finalize the data, “some of the numbers may change a little, but the conclusion will not change,” he added.

Prior to Fauci’s interview, Gilead Sciences, the company that produces remdesivir, had in a statement announced that it was aware of positive data emerging from the trial.

“We understand that the trial has met its primary endpoint,” the statement read.

Gilead originally designed remdesivir to treat patients with Ebola, but the drug proved ineffective when tested for that purpose.

When tested in animal models of coronavirus infection, however, remdesivir showed efficacy in treating both severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

When SARS-CoV-2 emerged, scientists found the virus stopped replicating in a lab dish when exposed to the drug. Remdesivir also prevented the virus from infecting human cells in a petri dish.