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The global health agency says there is no evidence that the drug improves survival rates or reduces the need for ventilation.
A group of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) has advised against the use of the antiviral drug remdesivir for hospitalized patients with COVID-19, regardless of how seriously ill they are, because there is currently no evidence that it improves survival. or the need for ventilation.
The WHO Guideline Development Group (GDG) based its recommendation on a new review of evidence comparing the effects of different drug treatments on more than 7,000 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in four international randomized trials.
The Panel, which includes four patients who have had COVID-19, concluded that remdesivir “has no significant effect on mortality or other important outcomes for patients, such as the need for mechanical ventilation or time for clinical improvement. “WHO said in a statement.
In October, WHO said its global Solidarity trial using remdesivir in inpatient treatment of COVID-19 found it had little or no effect on length of time spent in hospital or their survival.
Remdesivir, developed by US pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences to treat Ebola, was one of several drugs that attracted global attention as doctors looked for more effective ways to treat the novel coronavirus, which emerged in China at the end of the year. last.
He received clearance for emergency use from the Food and Drug Administration in the United States on May 1 and taken by US President Donald Trump when he was hospitalized with COVID-19 in early October . The drug has also gained regulatory approval in several other countries.
Alternative treatments
The group acknowledged that the evidence did not show that remdesivir had no benefit, rather that there was no evidence – given the data currently available – that it improved important outcomes for patients.
He noted, however, that given the remaining potential for major harm, as well as the relatively high cost associated with remdesivir, which must be administered intravenously, the recommendation was “appropriate”.
In July, Gilead set the price of remdesivir at $ 2,340 for a five-day treatment in the United States and other developed countries.
The recommendation, published in the BMJ, is part of WHO’s living guidelines, which are used in fast-moving research areas such as COVID-19 because they allow researchers to update previously verified and peer-reviewed summaries of evidence as soon as new information becomes available.
Gilead has yet to release full clinical trial reports on remdesivir, and the panel said it supports continued enrollment in drug evaluation studies, particularly to provide greater certainty of evidence for specific patient groups.
Since the onset of enthusiasm for remdesivir, alternative treatments have emerged including the cheap and widely available steroidal dexamethasone, which is usually used to reduce inflammation in other diseases such as arthritis.
In study results announced in June, dexamethasone was shown to reduce mortality rates by about a third among the most severely ill COVID-19 patients.
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