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WHO advises against remdesivir for coronavirus treatment
Patrick Galey (Agence France-Presse) – November 20, 2020 – 6:38 pm
PARIS, France – The antiviral drug remdesivir should not be used to treat COVID-19 patients, regardless of the severity of their illness, as it “does not have a significant effect” on the chances of survival, the World Organization for health.
Reducing hopes for one of the few treatments that had shown any initial promise in critically ill patients, a WHO Guideline Development Group (GDG) of international experts said that “there was no evidence based on currently available data that it improves conditions. important patient outcomes. “
The United States, the European Union, and other countries have granted temporary approval for the use of remdesivir after initial research showed that it can shorten recovery time in some coronavirus patients.
President Donald Trump was treated with remdesivir among other drugs after he tested positive for COVID-19 in October.
The WHO recommendation on Friday was based on four international randomized trials among more than 7,000 patients hospitalized with the virus.
By publishing an updated treatment guide in the medical journal BMJ, the panel recognized that their recommendation does not mean that remdesivir is of no benefit to patients.
But based on the latest figures, costs and methods of administration, he advised against “administering remdesivir in addition to usual care for the treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID-19, regardless of the severity of the disease.”
However, the panel recommended that trials of remdesivir continue, adding that their advice did not constitute proof that the treatment might not work in COVID-19 cases.
“That is why it is a conditional recommendation. (There may) still be a small potential benefit, perhaps in a subgroup (of patients),” Janet Diaz, WHO chief of clinical care, told reporters.
“Is there a subgroup that can benefit more, patients so serious versus critical patients”?
The manufacturer Gilead said that remdesivir was recognized as a treatment for COVID-19 by several official health agencies, including the US National Institutes of Health and Infectious Diseases, based on “robust data from several randomized controlled trials.”
“We regret that the WHO recommendation does not take these data into account even as the number of new cases globally is increasing considerably,” he said.
‘Expensive drug’
The US pharmaceutical giant said last month that the drug had increased third-quarter 2020 sales by nearly $ 900 million.
Initially developed as a treatment for the Ebola virus, a study published in May found that remdesivir reduces the length of hospital stays for COVID-19 patients from 15 to 11 days on average.
However, a preliminary WHO publication found that the drug “appeared to have little or no effect” on mortality or length of hospitalization among more than 11,000 hospitalized patients in 30 countries.
Peter Horby, Professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases and Global Health in Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Medicine, said the WHO recommendation would require reconsidering how hospitalized COVID-19 cases are treated.
“Remdesivir is an expensive drug that must be given intravenously for five to 10 days, so this recommendation will save money and other healthcare resources,” he said.
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