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Remdesivir treatment drug claimed not effective by the WHO

As pharmaceutical companies are working hard on finding a vaccine for coronavirus (COVID-19), doctors treating COVID-19 patients with antiviral drug remdesivir. Medical experts believed that remdesivir can help combat COVID-19 but a clinical trial conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) has recently confirmed remdesivir has ‘little to no effect’ on COVID-19 survival.

The WHO remdesivir clinical trials with COVID-19 patients was the world’s largest randomized drug trial and provided conclusive evidence that remdesivir provides no benefit to COVID-19 recovery. The WHO clinical trial studied over 11,000 COVID-19 patients spanning over 30 countries and 2,750 randomly assigned patients received remdesivir.

Other patients received other drugs rules out for COVID-19 in previous studies including hydroxychloroquine (used for maleria patients), lopinavir-ritonavir (combination antiviral medication), interferon (used to boost the immune system), or standard care medications. The study showed that patients with and without remdesivir required similar hospital care and use of breathing machines for cases with death rates after 28 days.

Remdesivir had yet to be approved by the U.S. for COVID-19 patients but was authorized for emergency use after a previous study concluded the drug helped to shorten recovery time by five days. Following COVID-19 usage approval in the U.S., remdesivir was approved for use in Europe and the U.K.

Though many patients depended on this treatment, it was one of the most expensive medications on the market that is in high demand. For a standard recommended remdesivir treatment, patients receive an intravenous infusion for five to ten days that costs roughly $2,550 per treatment.

Though the WHO clinical study results seem conclusive, some experts are speculating the testing model used during the clinical trial compared to previous trials. Experts indicate the WHO conducted the clinical trial through a poorly managed program stating the trail didn’t include a placebo infusion along with the doctors and patients knowing what treatments were being used which is usually not disclosed to trial participants.

The WHO study only tested for 10 days of remdesivir, despite some participants needing to stay in the hospital past this time period to finish the treatment. This measure influenced the study by making the length of the hospital stay look bad compared to patients receiving normal care.