Some good news has just been circulated amid mounting fears of the coronavirus pandemic, as a US government backed-study revealed that the drug Remdesivir significantly reduces the time it takes for COVID-19 patients to recover, as compared with a placebo treatment.
"The data shows that remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said in an interview with NBC News yesterday.
Patients treated with remdesivir took an average of 11 days to recover as compared with 15 days for those who received a placebo, he said.
"Although a 31% improvement doesn't seem like a knockout 100%, it is a very important proof of concept," Fauci said. "What it has proven is that a drug can block this virus."
NBC reported that there were indications the drug led to fewer deaths, but that part of the analysis is still under review.
As Fauci expressed genuine excitement over the results, Dr. Michael Saag, associate dean for global health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said the results seemed promising.
Antiviral drugs such as remdesivir tend to work earlier in the course of an illness, so "the thing that I think is important in this study is the patients had advanced disease," said Saag, who is not involved with any remdesivir trials.
"I think they were trying to give it the toughest test they could."
The US Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved any drugs for the treatment of the coronavirus. But it plans to announce an emergency-use authorization for remdesivir, according to The New York Times.
The authorization could come as soon as next Wednesday, The Times reported, citing a senior administration official.
In a statement to CNN, the FDA said it is in talks with Gilead Sciences, the maker of remdesivir, about making the drug available to patients.
"As part of the FDA's commitment to expediting the development and availability of potential COVID-19 treatments, the agency has been engaged in ... discussions with Gilead Sciences regarding making remdesivir available to patients as quickly as possible, as appropriate," FDA spokesman Michael Felberbaum said in statement.
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