Rethinking Remdesivir: Is It Really That Effective for Covid-19?
As more clinical data are out, scientists are doubting the efficacy of this costly drug.
Remdesivir is an antiviral agent that is said to work against Covid-19. Gilead Sciences developed it in 2017 to treat Ebola. Although the drug did not work well against Ebola, it showed promising results against coronaviruses in cell culture and animal studies. Remdesivir interrupts the enzyme the coronavirus needs to make its genes and, thus, decreases viral replication.
While the FDA has not approved remdesivir, it is widely used to treat Covid-19. Remdesivir costs about 2–3k USD for a five-day course, although it can be cheaper in developing countries. But the scientific community has raised skepticism in the efficacy of this costly drug against Covid-19. Why?
Dubious results from RCTs
A randomized placebo-controlled trial (RCT) published May in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) recruited 1063 Covid-19 patients, of which 88.7% had severe Covid-19 at enrollment, across ten countries. Investigators found that a 10-day…
