Data for Gilead’s potential coronavirus therapy are coming soon. Here’s what you need to know
Remind me what remdesivir is.
What’s being announced? Sometime this month, Chinese scientists will share results from two trials in that country, one looking at patients with severe Covid-19, and one with patients with mild and moderate infections
What are the possible outcomes? There is already one red flag. The investigators running the severe Covid-19 study in China have already taken an interim look at the data, but they did not stop the study early. This suggests remdesivir isn’t working as well as hoped, and dampens optimism for an overall positive outcome, Raffat said.
It’s also possible the trial will produce mixed results.
What do you mean, “mixed”? What’s the status of the other remdesivir clinical trials?
If it’s approved, would remdesivir be recommended for all patients with Covid-19?
there is a second study of remdesivir underway in China ... to read out results this month
At least four additional clinical trials of remdesivir are underway, ... expected to read out in May.
The World Health Organization is also running the “
Solidarity” trial that is testing remdesivir as well as other drugs and drug combinations. So this is not the final word on remdesivir
If it’s approved, would remdesivir be recommended for all patients with Covid-19?
If remdesivir works, there’s going to be a huge demand for it. How will the company deal with that? Why is getting a proven therapy important? If remdesivir is approved, how much will it cost? Have people been getting remdesivir outside of clinical trials? What would remdesivir’s success mean for Gilead? What other treatments are being tested and might have results soon 7
