Remdesivir drug not good for COVID-19 - WHO

The World Health Organisation in a stunning announcement Friday said Gilead’s drug remdesivir is no longer recommended for patients hospitalised with COVID-19, regardless of how ill they are.

According to a WHO panel, there is no evidence it improves survival or reduces the need for ventilation.

The Ebola drug was one of the drugs used to treat U.S. President Donald Trump’s coronavirus infection, and had been shown in previous studies to have cut time to recovery.

It is authorised or approved for use as a COVID-19 treatment in more than 50 countries.

But a WHO advisory said the drug is no more efficacious, following but a large WHO-led trial known as the Solidarity Trial.

The trial showed last month that it had little or no effect on 28-day mortality or length of hospital stays for COVID-19 patients.

“The … panel found a lack of evidence that remdesivir improved outcomes that matter to patients such as reduced mortality, need for mechanical ventilation, time to clinical improvement, and others,” the guideline said.