Remdesivir helps coronavirus recover faster

Four months after the start of the coronavirus spread, the world continues to fight to counteract it. The pandemic is advancing, but now, in parallel, science too.

Currently, there are 6 different vaccines that are being tested around the world to try to fight COVID-19. Also, research is continuing to determine if any current medication could have an effect against this disease.

Until very recently, this area had not been very successful, especially with the multiple problems that arose due to chloroquine and its derivative, hydroxychloroquine. However, the landscape has now changed thanks to another drug that was also under review: Remdesivir.

The great revelation

The United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has been testing this medication since February of this year.

For this, they carried out a double-blind, randomized controlled clinical trial in more than 1,000 patients hospitalized for COVID-19. With this, they were able to determine that people who received the drug and not the placebo showed signs of recovering faster.

The NIAID statement has reached the world this Wednesday. With this, this experimental broad-spectrum antiviral owned by the pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences has become the first proven drug that offers benefits in the treatment of coronavirus.

No miracle cures

The great revelation has filled the world with hope, because now at least one more detail is known that could be used in the battle against COVID-19. Still, it has only shown that it generates a 31% faster recovery.

Therefore, it is not a treatment that can magically end the coronavirus or that gives immediate results. What this discovery does offer are opportunities. Now that it is known to be functional against the virus, studying it could lead to the production of much more efficient specific drugs.

When could it start distributing?

At the moment, the distribution of this medicine is not authorized. Since, although it is already registered, it was never truly approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration).

Now, the application is on hold, but it is hoped that due to recent results, it will be approved soon. Meanwhile, the American company Gilead has already commented that it has 1.5 million initial doses between which they are ready and those that are in process, to dispose as soon as they have the permission.

Some inconvenients

It has been said that since the medicine must be applied by injection and has a complex manufacturing process, it may be difficult to distribute it. This is a problem that the company has not touched on and that you should begin to consider for your future projections.

Other opportunities

On the other hand, other research has shown them that the treatment applied for 5 days can be as effective as one that lasts 10. Originally, they were preparing their stock for 10 sessions. Now, with this new information, the number of treatments available has doubled.

This is how Remdesivir fights COVID-19

Remdesivir's success in fighting SARS-CoV-2 has to do with its stealthy way of sneaking into the cells it infects. The coronavirus requires adenosine, which is one of the building blocks of DNA and RNA, Remdesivir is a "nucleotide analog" that has the ability to mimic it.

As a consequence, when the virus considers that it is absorbing adenosine, what is really entering its system is the antiviral. Then, it attacks from within and slows down the virus's multiplication processes, which, in the end, prevents it from continuing to proliferate in the body.

Where did Remdesivir come from?

Originally, this medication was thought of as a possible element to combat viral hemorrhagic fever known as Ebola. However, in 2019 it was completely discontinued as it did not offer encouraging results by curbing the virus that caused it.

It wasn't until NIAID became interested in this drug in 2020 that it was able to dust off the shelf. All because, in previous tests, fortunately it had shown positive results against the cousins ​​of COVID-19, SARS and MERS, being in animals.

The controversy

The same day that NIAID revealed its study, The Lancet also published another one conducted with patients in China indicating that Remdesivir had not produced any noticeable results. However, the sample of this research was significantly smaller than that of the American study (less than 200 participants). Therefore, it is considered that it is possible to rely more on the results obtained from the largest population.