Remdesivir Shows Promise for Those With Severe COVID-19

There is encouraging news from a University of Chicago hospital that’s participating in a clinical trial with Gilead Sciences Inc. using their experimental antiviral drug called remdesivir in treating severe COVID-19 patients.

It appears that it might be a possible treatment for COVID-19.

At this time, there are no approved treatments for the virus that has infected more than 2 million people globally.

I’m cautiously optimistic this could be a very good sign of a game-changer in saving more lives of patients with COVID-19 who become seriously ill. As the director of Men’s Health and Urologic Oncology at St. Francis Hospital, in Roslyn, New York, I would also indicate that, so far, reports are showing rapid recoveries in fever and respiratory symptoms. Better yet, nearly all of these patients have been able to leave the hospital in less than a week.

Recruited for Gilead’s two Phase 3 clinical trials were 125 people of which 113 of them had severe disease. All of the 125 patients were treated with daily infusions of remdesivir. The majority of these patients have already been released from the hospital while two deaths were recorded.

I would also explain Remdesivir is given intravenously and was also helpful in being effective against SARS, MERS, and Ebola. And, I would add the mechanics of this medication is that it targets the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of coronavirus which stops it from replicating itself preventing the virus from spreading and developing into severe acute respiratory syndrome — which is what can kill patients.

Apart from the University of Chicago, there are 151 other locations globally participating in Gilead’s trial that involves 2.400 COVID-19 patients presenting with severe disease. There are 169 other study locations, also worldwide, of a trial using remdesivir which includes 1,600 patients with more moderate symptoms of COVID-19.

But, I would caution, one factor to know is the trial for the severe patients has no control group to compare their results with, making it harder to interpret the data being found.

While we anxiously look forward what data will be discovered from the other ongoing studies, we don’t want to make rash decisions too soon on its effectiveness and use for treating COVID-19.

We’re hoping it’s the miracle drug we’ve been waiting for to conquer COVID-19 — but we just don’t know that yet.

At this point, if results from Gilead’s clinical trials are positive, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with other regulatory agencies, will likely give a go-ahead for approval for use in treating COVID-19. If remdesivir is found safe and effective, it has the potential of becoming the first treatment approved for the virus.

Dr. David Samadi is Director of Men’s Health and Urologic Oncology at St. Francis Hospital in Long Island. He is a renowned and highly successful board certified Urologic Oncologist Expert and Robotic Surgeon in New York City. He is regarded as one of the leading prostate surgeons in the U.S., trained in oncology, open, laparoscopic, and robotic surgery. He has vast expertise in prostate cancer treatment and Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy. To Read More of His Reports - Click Here Now.