US allows use of remdesivir to help virus recovery ­­

WASHINGTON: US regulators have allowed emergency use of the first drug that appears to help some COVID-19 patients recover faster, a milestone in the global search for effective therapies against the coronavirus, foreign media reported on Saturday.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared Gilead Science’s intravenous drug for hospitalised patients with “severe disease,” such as those experiencing breathing problems requiring supplemental oxygen or ventilators.

President Donald Trump announced the news at the White House alongside Gilead CEO Daniel O’Day and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn.

“This was lightning speed in terms of getting something approved” said Hahn, calling the drug “an important clinical advance.”

The FDA acted after preliminary results from a government-sponsored study showed that the drug, remdesivir, shortened the time to recovery by 31%, or about four days on average, for hospitalised COVID-19 patients. Those given the drug were able to leave the hospital in 11 days on average vs. 15 days for the comparison group. The drug may also help avert deaths, but that effect is not yet large enough for scientists to know for sure.

Dr. Sameer Khanijo, a critical care specialist, said he wants to see additional studies to clarify the drug’s benefit.

“I don’t think this is a cure yet, but I think it’s starting to point us in the right direction,” said Khanijo of North Shore University Hospital in New York. “As a society it’s nice to have something that will help stem the tide of this disease.”