Gilead's remdesivir has 'little or no effect' on COVID-19 recovery or mortality

Gilead Sciences’ antiviral remdesivir got an emergency authorization from the FDA to treat COVID-19 in May on the basis of a study showing the drug cut the recovery time for hospitalized patients by 31%. But a new and much larger study has reached a very different conclusion.

The World Health Organization (WHO) released preliminary results from a trial involving 11,266 COVID-19 patients in 30 countries who were treated with one of four drug regimens, including remdesivir. The drug “appeared to have little or no effect on hospitalized COVID-19” patients, as measured by the need for ventilation, the length of hospital stay and overall mortality, according to the study, which was posted on the journal preprint site medRxiv.

Gilead lashed out shortly after WHO released the study results Thursday. “We are concerned that the data from this open label global trial have not undergone the rigorous review required to allow for constructive scientific discussion, particularly given the limitations of the trial design,” Gilead said in a statement.