''Certainly, Remdesivir appears to have come a full circle.''
Hot on the heels of the disappointing clinical trial from China in patients treated with Remdesivir as reported in the journal Lancet, comes superbly
encouraging results from a trial sponsored by the United States National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
In the NIAD trial, over a thousand
hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 were randomly chosen to receive either
Remdesivir or a placebo. Those who received Remdesivir recovered faster than those
who received the placebo (dummy) showing 31% faster time to recovery. Remdesivir also increased
survival, with a mortality rate of 8% for those who received the drug and 11.6%
for those on the placebo.
The Chinese trial was small, and
comprised of 237 severe COVID-19 hospitalised patients who randomly received
either Remdesivir or a placebo. Although the drug showed a good safety profile,
Remdesivir treatment did not cause significant clinical or antiviral effects. However, interestingly
the study showed that patients receiving Remdesivir had a numerically
faster time to clinical improvement than those receiving placebo, though not
statistically significant.
Earlier in February of this year,
researchers in Wuhan had shown that Remdesivir and another drug chloroquine are
highly effective in cell culture models of 2019 nCOV the virus that causes COVID-19. In their
paper, they had made a strong case for the testing of these drugs in patients
saying “Since these compounds have been
used in human patients with a safety track record and shown to be effective
against various ailments, we suggest that they should be assessed in human
patients suffering from the novel coronavirus disease.” Certainly, Remdesivir
appears to have come a full circle.
Remdesivir which began its life
in Gilead Sciences under the leadership of the Czechoslovakia born Tomáš Cihlář
as a treatment for Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus infections, has now
proved its mettle against COVID-19. Though not a completed cure for COVID-19, until a better drug arrives Remdesivir may
well be the gold standard in the treatment of COVID-19.
References
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31022-9/fulltext
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41422-020-0282-0
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