An antiviral drug known under the name of remdesivir appears to be the first treatment that can combat coronavirus efficiently.
Initial results from a clinical trial that compared the drug with a placebo infer that the drug managed to boost the recovery speed for the patients by up to 31%. During the international trial, more than 1,063 people that were hospitalized with COVID-19 were selected as eligible participants. They received an intravenous solution of remdesivir or a placebo. Patients who received remdesivir recovered in 11 days in comparison to those who took the placebo and recovered after 15 days.
It was also mentioned that 8% of the patients who received remdesivir died, while the rate reached 11% in the case of the patients who received the placebo treatment. While 31% may seem to be far from 100%, it is a critical milestone that proves that the virus can be affected by drugs.
Most results tend to be showcased after they were reviewed by other scientists, but the team was confident in its work and decided to release the information early. The decision was also motivated by the need to let the participants of the placebo group known that the treatment is effective, so they can also use it.
Remdesivir will be the new etalon for other drugs. The team of scientists has also stated that the trial will be adapted to include the use of an antibody that might limit inflammation. The drug works by mimicking a block of RNA, the genetic material that is used by the virus. When the virus copies the RNA sequence, it copies remdesivir instead of the viral RNA, an act that hinders the replication of the virus.
Previous studies have shown that the drug is efficient against most forms of coronavirus that can be encountered. More data can be found in the study, which was published in a scientific journal.
Doris’s passion for writing started to take shape in college where she was editor-in-chief of the college newspaper. Even though she ended up working in IT for more than 7 years, she’s now back to what he always enjoyed doing. With a true passion for technology, Doris mostly covers tech-related topics.