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SINGAPORE – There are no changes to the way the antiviral drug remdesivir is used to treat Covid-19 patients here as it is relatively safe and has a potential benefit for some people, the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID) said. ).
It responded to a recommendation from the World Health Organization (WHO) on November 20 that the drug should not be used to treat Covid-19 patients, no matter how severe their disease is, as it “does not have a major effect. “on the chances of survival.
In a statement to The Straits Times on Tuesday (December 1), the NCID said: “Remdesivir is available in Singapore, and given its relatively safe profile and potential benefit in some patients, clinicians may exercise discretion over its use in treatment. of Covid-19 patients. There is no significant change from the current stage in our approach to therapeutic treatment for Covid-19 patients. “
Remdesivir, developed by US pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, received conditional approval from the Singapore Health Sciences Authority for use outside of clinical trials in June.
Infectious disease specialists can administer it to Covid-19 patients with low oxygen saturation levels, less than or equal to 94 percent, or those who might require supplemental oxygen or more intensive respiratory support.
However, the WHO recommended not using remdesivir, given the weak evidence that it improves survival and other outcomes in hospitalized patients.
The recommendation was developed by an international guidelines development panel comprised of 28 people: 24 content experts, such as clinicians, methodologists, and scientists, and four Covid-19 survivors. NCID Executive Director Professor Leo Yee Sin is one of the panel members.
“Although the analysis revealed no evidence to support the use of remdesivir in patients with Covid-19 regardless of the severity of the disease, the evidence against its use was found to be weak,” the NCID statement said.
Subgroup analysis, where study samples are divided into smaller subsets, from the United States National Institutes of Health Covid-19 adaptive treatment trial, as well as the WHO Solidarity study involving patients who requiring little oxygen, suggested that remdesivir provided some benefit. , NCID noted.
However, the subgroup analysis alone was considered insufficient to make recommendations, the NCID added.
“The report (WHO recommendation) also recognized the lack of evidence regarding the increased risk of serious adverse events in patients receiving remdesivir.
“This report does not deny the role of remdesivir in future research and clinical trials,” he said.
“Covid-19 therapeutics is a fast-moving field and the NCID Covid-19 therapeutic task force will continue to monitor and deliberate on recent data and the WHO recommendation … Singapore’s current approaches to early detection of cases, close monitoring of progression and intervention at the appropriate time should be continually emphasized. “
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