Remdesivir not effective: Study

New Delhi, October 16

Widely prescribed anti-viral drug Remdesivir has shown no benefit in reducing Covid-19 deaths, the world’s largest trial on the efficacy of four repurposed drugs has revealed.

‘Next few months crucial’

The next two-and-a-half months are going to be crucial in the fight against Covid-19 because of the winter season and festivals, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Friday.

Interim results from the WHO Solidarity Trial, which studied re-purposed anti-viral drugs Remdesivir, Hydroxychloroquine, Lopinavir, and Interferon-ß1a, found that none of these helped reduce Covid-19 deaths. The trial, held from March 22 to October 4, 2020, followed 11,266 patients in 405 hospitals across 30 countries in all six WHO regions.

“These drug regimens appeared to have little or no effect on hospitalised Covid-19 patients as indicated by overall mortality, initiation of ventilation and duration of hospital stay. No study drug appreciably reduced initiation of ventilation in those not already ventilated,” said pre-print study published today. — TNS