The World Health Organization announced on Friday the long-awaited results of its six-month “solidarity therapeutic trial” that struggled to see if existing drugs could have an effect on the coronavirus.
What the study found
The study, which was not peer-reviewed, found that four treatments tested (remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir / ritonavir, and interferon) had “little or no effect” on whether or not patients died within about a month or whether hospitalized patients were recovered, according to The Associated Press.
Most of them were already discarded. But remdesivir, a repurposed antimalarial drug, has long been classified as the standard of care in the United States. It has also been approved for use against Covid-19 in the UK and the EU.
The WHO said the study, which covered more than 30 countries, looked at the effects of treatments on overall death rates, whether or not patients need respirators and how long patients spend recovering in hospitals.
What the study says about remdesivir
The WHO has said that the world’s largest randomized trial of coronavirus treatments found “conclusive evidence” that remdesivir, a drug used to treat US President Donald Trump when he fell ill, has little or no effect in severe cases. .
A cocktail of treatments given to President Trump after he tested positive for the coronavirus included remdesivir.
Supplies of the drug have been limited and the European Medicines Agency is now reviewing whether remdesivir is causing kidney problems, as reported by some patients.
Why the findings are important
Martin Landray, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Oxford, told The Associated Press that the results of the WHO trial for hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir were in line with an earlier British study that he co-led.
“The big story is the discovery that remdesivir does not have a significant impact on survival,” he said in a statement. He said the drug is now recommended in some countries, but there have been significant concerns about supply, cost and access.
“This is a drug that needs to be given by intravenous infusion for 5-10 days,” noting that it costs about $ 2,550 per course of treatment. “Covid affects millions of people and their families around the world. We need scalable, affordable and equitable treatments, “he told The Associated Press.
(With input from The Associated Press)
