A drug developed by Gilead Sciences is showing promise in the fight against COVID-19, with a government study indicating remdesivir has a “clear-cut” effect in cutting the time patients need to recover.
“What it has proven is that a drug can block this virus,” said Anthony Fauci, who directs infectious diseases research at the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Fauci said in a trial involving over 1,000 patients, there was a lower mortality rate in the group that took remdesivir, at 8%, versus 11% in the placebo group.
All in all, the drug wasn’t a “knockout,” but the results show real promise, Dr. Fauci said at a White House meeting.
“It’s a very positive event,” President Trump said at the meeting featuring Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards.
Remdesivir is an anti-viral that showed promise in treating the earlier SARS coronavirus.
Gilead, a California-based company, said its own trial found patients treated within 10 days of developing signs of the disease had better outcomes than those treated after 10 days of symptoms.
It said 62% of patients treated early with remdesivir were able to be discharged from the hospital during the analysis, compared to 49% of those treated late.
Gilead shares were up over 5% by lunchtime after the company reported patients who received the shorter dosing showed similar results as those receiving a 10-day course.
“The study demonstrates the potential for some patients to be treated with a 5-day regimen, which could significantly expand the number of patients who could be treated with our current supply of remdesivir,” said Merdad Parsey, the company’s chief medical officer. “This is particularly important in the setting of a pandemic, to help hospitals and healthcare workers treat more patients in urgent need of care.”
There is no vaccine or proven cure for COVID-19, the virus that began in Wuhan, China, at the end of last year and has swept across the globe, upending normal life in much of the developed world.
Mr. Trump once highlighted a malaria drug, hydroxychloroquine, as a promising treatment if used alongside certain antibiotics. He hasn’t touted it much of late, as studies raise questions about its effectiveness and possible side effects on the heart.
Scientists, meanwhile, pointed to remdesivir from the start of the U.S. outbreak, which has infected more than 1 million and killed over 58,000.
Former Food and Drug Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CNBC ‘s “Squawk Box” that remdesivir should be viewed as a useful tool in the fight but “not a home run, a cure by any means.”
It could be something that, if used early, “it could reduce their chances of having a really bad outcome,” he said.
Lawrence, K. Altman, global fellow at the Wilson Center in D.C., said the study offered good news but the drug must be fully vetted.
“While a new study offers a glimmer of hope that an experimental drug, remdesivir, has an effect against COVID-19, determination of its benefit for the general population must await release of pertinent details to evaluate the study’s findings and scientific analysis comparing them to other studies of the drug that have shown mixed results,” he said.
