[The Guardian] Remdesivir: the antiviral drug is being touted as a possible coronavirus treatment – but will it work?

Remdesivir: the antiviral drug is being touted as a possible coronavirus treatment – but will it work?

Hopes are high for the drug and US expert Dr Anthony Fauci says it shows promise. But there are conflicting reports

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Of the antiviral, antibiotic, antiretroviral and anti-malarial medicines being studied in trials to treat and prevent Covid-19, a drug called remdesivir is among a handful which scientists and the World Health Organization consider most promising.

Hope in the drug was revived on Wednesday when the US government’s top infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, said data from one clinical trial “shows that remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery”. But within hours of Fauci’s announcement, the prestigious medical journal The Lancet published results from a study in China which found remdesivir did not speed recovery or reduce deaths from Covid-19 compared with a placebo in hospital patients.

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Source: Remdesivir: the antiviral drug is being touted as a possible coronavirus treatment – but will it work?

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