Gilead’s remdesivir helped healthier Covid-19 patients:Study

Team Udayavani, May 24, 2020, 12:59 PM IST

As per a recent study, Gilead’s remdesivir, the first medicine cleared for the treatment of Covid-19, mainly benefited healthier patients who weren’t dependent on ventilators

According to the report in the New England Journal of Medicine, the drug helped patients infected with the coronavirus heal faster, allowing them to return home after about 11 days, compared to 15 days for those who were treated with a placebo.

Researchers said, “Given high mortality despite the use of remdesivir, it is clear that treatment with an antiviral drug alone is not likely to be sufficient. Future strategies should evaluate antiviral agents in combination with other therapeutic approaches or combinations of antiviral agents to continue to improve patient outcomes in Covid-19”

Researchers also said that the only group to do significantly better on remdesivir were those who were sick enough to need supplemental oxygen, but who weren’t yet on a ventilator or a heart-lung bypass machine.