MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th November, 2020) A World Health Organization (WHO) panel of experts does not recommend the use of remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19 as the latest studies have shown it had no meaningful impact on patient recovery.
The WHO's Guideline Development Group (GDG) panel said that new evidence pointing to remdesivir's ineffectiveness was compiled from four international randomized trials involving more than 7,000 COVID-19 inpatients. The conclusion was published in the British Medical Journal as part of the so-called living guidelines, which seeks to fast-track COVID-19 studies for the medical community.
The GDG panel, four members of which are COVID-19 survivors, found that intravenously delivered remdesivir "has no meaningful effect on mortality or on other important outcomes for patients, such as the need for mechanical ventilation or time to clinical improvement," a statement accompanying the study read.
The study detailed that administration of the drug did not have clear impact on the recovery or mortality rates of severely ill patients, nor does it cut down on the need for patients to be put onto ventilators.
The panel went on to say that it would continue to evaluate studies on the drug's effectiveness but said it would not be fully understood until the manufacturer, US pharmaceutical firm Gilead, released full clinical study reports.
The new recommendations contradict the US' food and Drug Administration's stance, having approved remdesivir for clinical use even for infants.
Originally developed as a malaria drug, remdesivir gained global attention in April when US President Donald Trump touted it as a "game-changer" in the treatment of the disease.
The president would go on to be treated with the drug when he contracts COVID-19 in October along with a cocktail of experimental drugs.
