Remdesivir drug shows 'clear-cut' effect in treating coronavirus, says U.S.
The HinduCOVID-19 patients who took the antiviral remdesivir recovered about 30 percent faster than those on a placebo, the results of a major clinical trial showed Wednesday, as the top U.S. epidemiologist hailed the drug's “clear-cut” benefit. For Anthony Fauci, who leads the NIAID and has been one of the government's point people during the crisis, “the data shows that remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery.” “Although a 31 percent improvement doesn't seem like a knockout 100 percent, it is a very important proof of concept because what it has proven is that a drug can block this virus,” he told reporters at the White House. The company would then sell the drug at an “affordable” price, he told the health Peter Horby, an epidemiologist at the University of Oxford who was not involved in the study, said: “We need to see the full results, but if confirmed this would be a fantastic result and great news for the fight against COVID-19.” President Donald Trump, who described the news as a “positive event,” said he supported an emergency use authorisation for the drug, which would allow doctors to prescribe it more widely.news site Stat. Fauci said it was “not an adequate study.” Apart from remdesivir, the antimalarial drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are also being widely used against COVID-19 on a so-called “compassionate basis” pending results from large trials.