WHO Reports That Remdesivir Does Not Reduce COVID-19 Deaths

A large clinical trial conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that the drug developed by the US company Gilead, remdesivir, did not help hospitalized COVID-19 patients survive or even shorten recovery time among survivors.

Smaller studies had found that the antiviral drug remdesivir helped hospitalized coronavirus patients recover faster than those receiving placebo, findings that these new results contradict. Earlier studies led the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant "emergency use authorization" for remdesivir for thousands of COVID-19 patients, including US President Donald Trump (not approval).

The WHO-sponsored trial was conducted between March 22-October 4 and included patients from 405 hospitals in 30 countries, totaling 11,330 patients. They received remdesivir and 3 other drugs (hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir and interferon), alone or in combination.

According to the trial, these drugs had little or no effect on overall COVID-19 mortality (death rate), intubation or length of hospital stay.

The data were published online as a preprint on medRxiv and have not been peer reviewed.

The Remdesivir Story in COVID-19 Treatment May Not Be Over, However

Remdesivir's manufacturer, the US pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, issued a statement defending the drug, saying that controlled studies published in peer-reviewed journals confirmed its benefits.

Gilead also questioned how the trial was conducted, saying that differences in trial adoption, implementation, controls and patient groups made it unclear whether any definitive findings could be drawn from the results.

Remdesivir is an antiviral originally developed to treat Ebola and repurposed to treat coronavirus. It has been one of the few encouraging developments in the global fight against COVID-19.

Prof. Julie Fischer of Georgetown University's Department of Microbiology and Immunology said about the study, "It is certainly disappointing. What we all want to see is what is often called a 'magic bullet': an existing drug that is safe and works effectively in patients. Unfortunately, in this case, at least this trial indicates that remdesivir has no benefits.".

The FDA granted emergency use authorization for remdesivir in April, stating, "Although information about the safety and effectiveness of using remdesivir to treat hospitalized patients with COVID-19 is limited, the investigational drug was shown in a clinical trial to shorten recovery time in some patients.".

A clinical trial conducted by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), whose results were published on October 8 in NEJM, included approximately 1000 patients and reported that remdesivir shortened recovery time in around 31% of patients. The NIH also said the trial showed a survival benefit, with an 8% mortality rate in the remdesivir group versus 11.6% in the placebo group (but this difference was not statistically significant).

However, the World Health Organization (WHO)-sponsored trial said that remdesivir and the other drugs did not work.

In conclusion, the findings of this trial appear sufficient to refute early hopes that any of the tested drugs would substantially reduce inpatient mortality, intubation or the duration of hospitalization.

Until an effective coronavirus vaccine is found to reduce the adverse effects of COVID-19, we must continue adhering firmly to these 4 principles:

1. Wearing a mask,
2. Maintaining social distance,
3. Performing as much testing as possible, and
4. Isolating patients rapidly.

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