Patients responding to Remdesivir
Scientists in the United States hailed a potential breakthrough in the coronavirus fight as a trial showed patients responding to antiviral drug remdesivir, fuelling global hopes for a return to normal. The news propelled a rebound on Wall Street even after the data showed the pandemic had plunged the United States into its worst economic slump in a decade.
A clinical trial of the drug remdesivir has showed that the patients recovered more than 30 percent quicker than those on a placebo. “The data shows that remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is the veteran top US scientist who was involved in the vaccine development for HIV in 1980s.
Improvement in the Vaccine Trials
The main goal of this trial was to evaluate how long patients take to recover on versus off the drug- with three different categories of recovery; hospitalized but no longer needing oxygen; discharged from the hospital but still limited in their home activities; and discharged from hospital with no limits on home activities. It is hard to judge just how well patients did without numeric data. However, Gilead’s statement indicates there was an overall improvement over the placebo.
It is a phase 3 trial, a final stage before any medication can receive regulatory approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Remdesivir belongs to a class of drugs that act on the virus directly, as opposed to controlling the abnormal and often lethal autoimmune response it causes. It mimics one of the four building blocks of RNA and DNA and gets absorbed into the virus’ genome, which in turn stops the pathogen from replicating. Experts have warned that only a full-scale vaccine will allow the full removal of restrictions that put half of humanity under some form of lockdown.
