Remdesivir is one of the hopefuls in the fight against the lung disease Covid-19. This perception increases after the US pharmaceutical giant Gilead presents “positive results” from a first clinical trial. In China, however, the actual Ebola drug disappointed.
The Ebola drug remdesivir convinced in a clinical study in the treatment of Covid-19 patients in the USA: the immunologist Anthony Fauci, who heads the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and US President Donald Trump in the corona -Krise advises, said the first results should be rated “very positive”. However, the results would still have to be checked and published independently, but the indications of a significantly shorter duration of illness are promising.
Remdesivir has shown a “significantly positive effect in reducing the time to recovery,” said Fauci. The international clinical study was carried out with control groups and the data collection was accompanied by independent experts.
The American pharmaceutical giant Gilead originally developed the antiviral agent for the treatment of Ebola. According to the information, the Covid-19 study was carried out with more than 1000 participants. Remdesivir was there compared to a placebo been. The drug is one of several drugs whose effectiveness in the fight against the coronavirus is being investigated. Remdesivir has not been officially approved anywhere.
Recovery four days faster
Patients who suffered from Covid-19 lung disease and were given remdesivir in the hospital recovered after an average of 11 days, the patients in the control group only after 15 days. The mortality rate was also somewhat lower, said Fauci. However, this does not solve all problems.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) still wants to quickly approve remdesivir for patients who come to hospital with a severe form of Covid-19. However, formal approval would take much longer and require further studies, Fauci explained.
US result contradicts Chinese study
Meanwhile, The Lancet magazine published a study from China that remdesivir is not effective in treating Covid-19 lung disease. There is no “statistically significant clinical benefit”. The drug does not accelerate the healing process compared to a placebo, nor does it lower the mortality rate of patients. However, the study authors referred to the lower number of only 237 test participants.
The Financial Times reported last week on the Chinese study and the apparently disappointing results. The newspaper cited a summary of the study, which was apparently inadvertently briefly available on the World Health Organization (WHO) website.
Gilead had rejected this account. The Chinese study ended prematurely due to low participation and was therefore not statistically significant, the company said. In addition, a “possible benefit of remdesivir” should be derived from the data, especially in patients in an early stage of the disease.
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