Dr Fauci, the Director of the Institute for Allergies and infectious disease has touted the results from clinical trials of Remdesivir an intravenous medication as a potential drug to treat #coronavirus patients.
"Patients had a slightly lower mortality rate when treated with Remdesivir, compared to a placebo group." Fauci gave his recommendations to the White House Administration.
Remdesivir is set to be the standard of care for Coronavirus patients in the United States in these unusual times as there is no matching alternative drug to treat the mounting number of coronavirus patients.
The United States reported 1,023,304 cases of #Coronavirus and 58,965 deaths to the deadly respiratory contagion COVID-19.
In a random clinical study, the drug provided a quick recovery rate for COVID-19 patients that is 11 days compared to 15 days or more for other alternatives.
It is noted that the World Health Organisation had trashed the medicine in their independent study, saying the effects were inconclusive as they failed to cover a large sample of patients.
The World Health Organization (WHO) accidentally revealed data from a study in China showing that the treatment neither improved patients’ condition nor tamped down on the amount of virus in their blood, the Financial Times reported, calling the trial a “flop.”
A possible cure for coronavirus was today reported in Chicago by pharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences after the anti-viral Remdesivir was found to help critically-ill patients recover within a week.
In their trial run, the University of Chicago Medicine recruited 125 people with COVID-19 as part of global clinical trials.
All the patients were treated with daily infusions of remdesivir, an experimental drug first touted to treat Ebola which has been in the making for ten years.
Most of the patients have been discharged after their symptoms eased over a week, and only two patients have died.
Global hopes have been pinned on #Remdesivir, for the treatment of COVID-19 a highly contagious respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus that has infected over two million people worldwide.
Remidivir was thrust into the limelight after the World Health Organization listed it as 'the most promising candidate' for a COVID-19 therapy in January.
Scientists say remdesivir - which is also being trialled in scores of British hospitals - could have a 'profound impact' on the global pandemic.
The University of Chicago is one of 152 locations participating in Gilead's phase three clinical trial involving severe COVID-19 patients, with other locations in the UK.
Remdesivir was developed 10 years ago with the intention of it destroying the Ebola virus. It was pushed aside, however, when other, better candidates emerged.
It's made by California-based pharmaceutical company, Gilead Sciences, the firm behind the life-changing HIV-preventing pill Truvada, or PrEP.
Lab tests of remdesivir have shown promise against coronaviruses - but human trials are still in their early days.
Doctors in the US have tried it on patients and it managed to speed up the recovery of the first person to be treated for the virus there.
The 35-year-old man in Washington state, close to Seattle – whose infection was announced on January 20 – recovered after being given the drug.
A Californian woman who doctors 'thought was going to pass away' also recovered in the US after being given the drug.
Four American passengers on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship treated with the drug in Japan also recovered.
Officials in Liguria – a coastal region of Italy – also announced an infected man in his 70s had recovered and could go home after 12 days in the hospital.
Hundreds of patients - including some in the UK - taking part in a European mega-trial will get a chance to take the drug to prove if it can fight the coronavirus.
The drug is also being trialled on coronavirus patients in China and at the University of Nebraska.
Scientists are full of hope because the drug is proven to be safe in humans. But its side effects are still not well understood.
Professor Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, hailed remdesivir as 'one of the most promising antivirals' being investigated.
While Dr Alfredo Garzino-Demo, of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said evidence shows it has the ability to treat COVID-19 patients.
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