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The World Health Organization has published a study showing that the antiviral drug Remdesivir “has little or no effect on mortality” in patients infected with Covid-19.
Furthermore, the study, described as conclusive and disappointing at the same time, reveals that the treatment does not help Covid-19 infected patients recover faster, according to CNN.
So far, remdesivir has been the only treatment that appears to have an effect in the fight against Covid-19. For this reason, it was the only drug that was urgently approved to treat patients in the United States, including President Donald Trump.
The WHO study looked at four treatments for Covid-19: remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, interferon, and specific treatment for HIV, consisting of lopinavir and ritonavir.
Neither of these treatments helped patients live longer or leave the hospital faster.
The study considered factors such as the impact of treatments on mortality, the need for ventilation, and the length of hospitalization.
“For each drug in the study, the effect on mortality was disappointingly unpredictable.”the WHO said in a statement.
Several studies have so far shown that hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug, has no effect in Covid-19 patients.
More than 11,000 Covid-19 infected patients from 30 countries participated in the study.
Gilead, the study’s developer, said the WHO study did not show remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury, to have any effect.
“The data appears inconsistent with other strong evidence from several published studies validating the benefits of Veklury. We are concerned that these data have not undergone a rigorous verification process to allow for scientific discussion.” Gilead announced in a statement.
