Can Remdesivir Help Covid-19 Patients Recover?

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said that the antiviral drug Remdesivir may be effective in curbing the replication mechanism of the novel coronavirus.

(FILES) In this file photo taken on April 8, 2020 one vial of the drug Remdesivir lies during a press conference about the start of a study with the Ebola drug Remdesivir in particularly severely ill patients at the University Hospital Eppendorf (UKE) in Hamburg, northern Germany, amidst the new coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. - The experimental drug remdesivir has been authorized by US regulators for emergency use against COVID-19, President Donald Trump announced on May 1, 2020. (Photo by Ulrich Perrey / POOL / AFP)

New Delhi: Remdesivir an antiviral drug is being seen as a ray of hope for critically ill Covi-19 patients as the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said that it may be effective in curbing the replication mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19. According to a report by PTI, the ICMR said research on its efficacy in the treatment of COVID-19 is a part of WHO's "Solidarity Trial". The drug which is manufactured by Gilead Sciences, an American biopharmaceutical company was also used during the Ebola outbreak. What is this drug? Remdesivir is an antiviral drug that can be used against a broad spectrum of viruses including coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV-2 which is the cause of the current pandemic. When a virus enters a human body it releases its genetic material and uses living cells in the body to multiply. This drug inhibits this replication of the virus i.e. the virus is stopped from making copies of itself. According to a study published in the medical journal The Lancet ‘In vitro, remdesivir inhibits all human and animal coronaviruses tested to date, including SARS-CoV-2.’ But the drug has worked ‘In Vitro’ that is outside a living body in a test tube or a Petri dish, many researchers are skeptical about its effect on Covid-19 patients as the results from some studies using a randomized sample have given mixed results. Study on the effect of the drug Now, a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed a marked improvement in patients who were severely ill especially in those who were in oxygen support or ventilators. Head of Epidemiology and Communicable diseases at ICMR Raman R Gangakhedkar has said that this quality of the drug makes them believe that that it could be effective in COVID-19. PTI reported that he said, "Recently reported study on the use of remdesivir for COVID-19 treatment is not a clinical trial, but an observational study which found that 68 percent or two out of three patients after treatment with the drug did not require ventilator support or their need for oxygen support reduced. We will come to know of further developments through the WHO Solidarity Trial, which has an arm which is looking into this," According to an IANS report, the US has already planned to begin treating seriously ill COVID-19 patients with remdesivir. Gilead Sciences At present, the drug is manufactured by Gilead Sciences an American biopharmaceutical company. According to an IANS report, after getting positive results from two trials the company is ready to ramp up production and have enough supplies to treat 1 million patients by the year-end. The pharma company is also in talks with drug manufacturers to expand its global supply. "We hope to have produced enough supplies to treat over a million patients by year-end. We are also working to build a global consortium of pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturers to expand global capacity and production," said Gilead Sciences CEO Daniel O'Day in the IANS report. Remdesivir and India The news agency IANS reported that on April 30 the Health Ministry had said it is examining remdesivir as one protocol in the treatment for COVID-19. Joint Secretary, Health, Lav Agarwal said, “As of now, there is no confirmed treatment protocol for Covid-19. Remdesivir is one protocol that is being examined. Even the study on remdesivir by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has not conclusively proved its effectiveness. Waiting for larger evidence, to take meaningful action."