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Remdesivir vs. COVID-19: Studies Provide Different Results
Many options are currently being tested in treating infections with the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. One of them is the use of virostatic remdesivir. Despite the fact that the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. USA (NIAID) has already reported success with remdesivir from an ongoing study, there are still questions about its effectiveness. The data available so far does not allow clear conclusions to be drawn.
“The first results of three randomized studies on the viral drug remdesivir, on which hopes for the treatment of COVID-19 are currently based, differ,” reports the German Medical Journal. The NIAID assessment is, for example, in contradiction to a study already published in the journal “The Lancet”, which was unable to demonstrate any significant effect on the COVID-19 course to remdesivir.
Antivirals are also used against Ebola
New approaches to treatment against COVID-19, triggered by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, are urgently needed. Among the medications available, the Vides tonic Remdesivir (manufacturer Gilead Sciences), which is also used against Ebola, is one of those waiting. However, in a first published randomized study, no significant advantage was found in treating seriously ill COVID-19 patients with remdesivir. Even if there were indications that there could be a positive effect, this could not be clearly demonstrated.
US authorities report treatment was successful
However, according to NIAID, the study by the US National Institutes of Health. USA (NIH) found a clearer effect. “Preliminary results show that patients who received remedesivir took 31 percent less time to recover than those who received a placebo,” said the NIAID. Median recovery time after remedesivir treatment was eleven days, compared to 15 days after placebo administration. A survival advantage was also hinted at. For example, the death rate in the group that received remedesivir was eight percent, compared to 11.6 percent in the placebo group, reports the NIAID.
Preliminary results are not reliable
However, in a technical article https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1798 by the British Medical Journal (BMJ), Professor of Clinical Pharmacology Robin Ferner of the University of Birmingham is extremely critical of the statement from NIAID: “Expedited reviews or expedited publications are fine, but the suggestion that the results will be positive only benefits drug manufacturers.” It also fits in with the fact that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is said to be already dealing with Gilead Sciences negotiating the fastest possible availability of the agent.
Reliable information is important
Although there is evidence of a positive effect of remdesivir on COVID-19 and this seems more likely if treatment is started early, a final evaluation based on the data available so far is not possible. Although it is “desirable that treatments be evaluated quickly, what we need is reliable information,” emphasizes Professor Ferner. (fp)
Author:
Dipl. Geogr. Fabian Peters
Sources:
- Yeming Wang, Dingyu Zhang, Guanhua Du, Ronghui Du, Jianping Zhao, Yang Jin, and others: Remdesivir in adults with severe COVID-19: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial; in: The Lancet (published April 29, 2020), thelancet.com
- Deutsches Aerzteblatt international: COVID-19: Remdesivir has moderate effect in the first randomized studies (published April 30, 2020), aerzteblatt.de
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID): NIH Clinical Trial Shows Remdesivir Accelerates Recovery from Advanced COVID-19 (released April 29, 2020), niaid.nih.gov
Important note:
This article contains general information only and should not be used for self-diagnosis or treatment. It cannot replace a visit to the doctor.
