European Medicines Agency’s Human Medicines Committee has recommended the use of remdesivir in COVID-19 patients who were not on mechanical ventilation. In addition to the patients who were on mechanical ventilation, now EMA recommended the drug for patients who are not on mechanical ventilation also.
The drug is now recommended for patients who require supplemental oxygen, non-invasive ventilation, high-flow oxygen devices or ECMO.
The recommendation is based on NIAID-ACTT study. Preliminary results of the study showed that patients who were on remdesivir had a 31% faster recovery than patients who were on placebo. In terms of survival benefit, patients who were on remdesivir had mortality rate of 8.0%, 11.6% in patients who were on placebo.
A duration of 5-days is included in addition to current treatment duration of 10-days. This new duration is based on GS-US-540-5773, 10-days duration is recommended for patients who hasn’t showed the response to 5-days treatment.
Remdesivir is a viral RNA polymerase inhibitor. The drug is initially developed for Ebola virus, however the product had showed significant activity against SARS-CoV-2. The product is developed by Gilead.
Also read: NICE recommendation to manage symptoms of COVID-19