Remdesivir shows ‘clear-cut’ effect in treating coronavirus ― US
Remdesivir shows ‘clear-cut’ effect in treating coronavirus ― US
Coronavirus patients on the antiviral remdesivir recovered more than 30 per cent faster than those on a placebo, the results of a major clinical trial showed Wednesday as a top US scientist hailed the drug’s “clear-cut” benefit.
It represents the first time any medication has been shown to improve outcomes against the coronavirus illness, which has claimed more than 200,000 lives globally and brought the world economy to a grinding halt. Anthony Fauci, who oversaw the investigation, told reporters at the White House: “The data shows that remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery.” He added that the trial was proof “that a drug can block this virus,” and compared the finding to the arrival of the first antiretrovirals that worked against HIV in the 1980s, albeit with modest success at first. A statement by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases that Fauci heads said that patients on the drug had a 31 per cent faster time to recovery than those on a placebo. “Specifically, the median time to recovery was 11 days for patients treated with remdesivir compared with 15 days for those who received placebo,” it said.
The results also suggested that people who were on the drug were less likely to die, although the difference was not huge: The mortality rate was 8.0 per cent for the group receiving remdesivir versus 11.6 per cent for the placebo group. The trial began on February 21 and involved 1,063 people across 68 locations in the US, Europe and Asia.
Coronavirus patients on the antiviral remdesivir recovered more than 30 per cent faster than those on a placebo, the results of a major clinical trial showed Wednesday as a top US scientist hailed the drug’s “clear-cut” benefit. It represents the first time any medication has been shown to improve outcomes against the coronavirus illness, which has claimed more than 200,000 lives globally and brought the world economy to a grinding halt. Anthony Fauci, who oversaw the investigation, told reporters at the White House: “The data shows that remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery.” He added that the trial was proof “that a drug can block this virus,” and compared the finding to the arrival of the first antiretrovirals that worked against HIV in the 1980s, albeit with modest success at first. A statement by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases that Fauci heads said that patients on the drug had a 31 per cent faster time to recovery than those on a placebo. “Specifically, the median time to recovery was 11 days for patients treated with remdesivir compared with 15 days for those who received placebo,” it said.
The results also suggested that people who were on the drug were less likely to die, although the difference was not huge: The mortality rate was 8.0 per cent for the group receiving remdesivir versus 11.6 per cent for the placebo group. The trial began on February 21 and involved 1,063 people across 68 locations in the US, Europe and Asia.
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