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Although many drugs have been tried, no antiviral drug has been shown to be effective against COVID-19.
For now.
A recent study, published in the acclaimed New England Journal of Medicine, concludes that the antiviral drug Remdesivir shortens recovery time in patients with coronary heart disease.
Mortality
The researchers also found a slight decrease in mortality for Remdesivir-treated patients in this so-called double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study involving 1,062 hospitalized COVID-19 patients with a proven lower respiratory tract infection.
541 of the patients were given remdesivir intravenously, while 521 received misleading medication.
The researchers’ main finding was that the time from illness to recovery was shorter for those who received Remdesivir.
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Patients who received the drug had a mean recovery time of 10 days. Patients who received placebo had a mean recovery time of 15 days.
The researchers’ analysis also shows a small decrease in mortality among Remdesivir-treated patients.
Among those who received the drug, the death rate was estimated to be 6.7% after day 15, compared with 11.9% among patients who received misleading drugs.
After day 29, mortality among those treated with Remdesivir is estimated to be 11.4 percent, compared with 15.2 percent among those who received placebo.
– Still unclear
However, the decrease in mortality that arises from this study is not great enough to draw definitive conclusions.
– The decrease in mortality after day 29, which is the most relevant, is not significant, although it is on the verge of it. The study shows that patients treated with Remdesivir recover faster, but it is not yet clear whether the drug leads to lower mortality, says Research Council CEO John-Arne Røttingen.
Røttingen leads the global steering group for the WHO Solidarity study, which also examines the effects of Remdesivir.
– Therefore, we must await the conclusions of the Solidarity study before we can say anything more certain about the possible effect of Remdesivir on survival, says Røttingen, who cautions that the publication of this study is not that far off.
– Very promising
Chief physician Marius Trøseid in Rikshospitalet is the coordinator of the covid-19 committee of the Norwegian Association for Infectious Diseases (NFIM), which provides up-to-date recommendations on the treatment of covid-19 in Norway.
– The New England Journal of Medicine study is well done and has very promising and important results, says Trøseid and continues:
– Shows that the hospital stay is shortened with Remdesivir treatment. In terms of numbers, the study also shows a decrease in mortality, but this is sadly not significant. In Norway, therefore, we will await the results of the Solidarity study before making new recommendations, says Trøseid.
Treated with undocumented medicine combo
Trump Medicine
Earlier this week, it emerged that US coronavirus president Donald Trump had been treated with Remdesivir, in addition to the drug dexamethasone, a so-called systemic steroid.
– There is still no conclusion on whether Remdesivir improves survival or whether a combination of Remdesivir and dexamethasone is more effective than dexamethasone alone, Trøseid told Dagbladet on October 6.
The president of the United States was also treated with a cocktail of experimental antibodies for his SARS-CoV-2 infection.
– This is a drug you are on even earlier in the examination process than when it comes to Remdesivir, Røttingen told Dagbladet.
