Remdesivir: Next round for the bearer of hope

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

More posts by Christiane Fux All content is checked by medical journalists.

After the USA, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has now approved treatment with the drug Remdesivir for more people with coronavirus. Contrary to what was initially hoped, this drug does not deliver the breakthrough for the widespread rescue of Covid 19 patients. But it could significantly shorten the period of illness for seriously ill people.

Great hope, deep disappointment

Initially, the remdesivir was considered a great hope in the treatment of Sars-CoV-2 infected people. First, there were a few case studies from China that looked promising. Then, interim results of an investigation that were not intended for the public leaked out, pointing to a possible breakthrough: seriously ill hospital patients recovered almost consistently after receiving remdesivir.

But then another study from China abruptly dampened hopes: It found no clear indication of a reduction in mortality from Covid-19 through the agent (houseofgoldhealthproducts reported in the article Remdesivir: Does the Ebola drug help with Covid-19?).

Remdesivir shortens the duration of the illness

Now the candidate goes into another round.The drug could, if not protect the terminally ill from death, at least accelerate the recovery of the seriously ill. This is not only important for the individual patient. It could help prevent the dreaded hospitals overcrowding in a second wave of the pandemic.

According to the results, remdesivir can reduce the length of illness in patients who are seriously ill but do not yet need ventilation from 15 to 11 days. That's a good third. The data do not show that the drug actually prevents deaths. It is also positive that the product appears to be well tolerated overall. A final assessment of possible side effects is still pending.

According to Christoph Spinner, an infectious disease specialist at the Rechts der Isar Clinic in Munich, Remdesivir is the first drug that has shown a positive influence on the course of Covid-19 in studies. "This is more than a beginning," said the doctor on ZDF.

Broader use now also in Germany

The USA allowed the broader use of Remdesivir at the beginning of May - in a fast-track process. This is not yet a real approval. But it allows the drug to be used more widely outside of studies. Now the EMA has followed suit.

Originally, Remdesivir was developed to fight the related Ebola virus. But although the underlying mechanism - to slow down the replication of the virus - seems to work in the laboratory, remdesivir did not help against the Ebola pathogen in practice. It seems to be different with Sars-Cov-2.

Tags:  teenager Diseases smoking