| Topic: | Like a phoenix from the ashes, Remdesivir now shows promise in Coronavirus treatment | |
| Posted by: | Mark Julian Raymond | |
| Date/Time: | 30/04/20 17:00:00 |
| Like a phoenix from the ashes, antiviral Remdesivir, having shown no clear benefits with severely ill Coronavirus patients, another, bigger, trial addressing a broader base of Coronavirus patients has shown a reduction in the time to recover from the Coronavirus. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/remdesivir-trial-gives-hope-for-treatment-of-coronavirus-gd7xcgvdk Remdesivir trial gives hope for treatment of coronavirus Global study sees patient recovery time reduced Tom Whipple, Science Editor | Rhys Blakely Thursday April 30 2020, 9.00am, The Times A drug has been shown to treat coronavirus for the first time, cutting the number of days patients take to leave hospital by almost a third. Remdesivir, an antiviral originally designed to combat ebola, had a “clear-cut significant positive effect in diminishing time to recovery,” Anthony Fauci, a leading member of the US coronavirus task force, said. Announcing the results of the keenly awaited trial at a press conference with President Trump, Dr Fauci said that the success was “a very important proof of concept”. He added: “What it has proven is that a drug can block this virus.” The results were a surprise because the drug had appeared to fail in previous smaller studies, most notably one released last week but published in The Lancet yesterday. The new data, which was drawn from a global trial of more than 1,000 patients, including some in Britain, demonstrated an effect that was, Dr Fauci said, “very optimistic”. In the study, which was a “gold-standard” randomised controlled trial, those taking the Gilead Sciences drug recovered after 11 days, compared with 15 for those given a placebo. |