What’s the Deal With Remdesivir?
Making sense of conflicting news about the experimental Covid-19 drug
If you’re confused about what to think about remdesivir, the experimental coronavirus drug, you’re not alone. Nearly simultaneous announcements about the drug’s ability to treat people with Covid-19 on Wednesday presented conflicting views: One, a statement from Gilead Sciences, the company that makes remdesivir, said it “is aware of positive data” from a federal trial of the drug but did not release the data from that trial. The other, an academic study published early Wednesday in The Lancet, reported negative results.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director and White House health adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said in a briefing on Wednesday that the data from the Gilead trial, which he noted has not yet been peer reviewed, showed “quite good news” and a “clear cut positive effect in diminishing time to recover,” Reuters reported. According to the New York Times, the Food and Drug Administration plans to grant emergency use authorization for the drug as early as Wednesday.
Gilead currently has two ongoing studies involving remdesivir, an experimental antiviral drug that currently has no approved use: One where people with severe Covid-19 get the drug for five or 10 days and that has no control…
