Coronavirus drug Remdesivir gives promising results in initial testing

Coronavirus pandemic has totally disrupted life as we know. The US is now the worst affected country with the most number of cases and deaths, and the numbers are still increasing at a rapid rate. New York City has been declared the new epicenter of the outbreak.

But amid all this, there might be positive news on the working of the Coronavirus vaccine. Remdesivir, an existing drug from Gilead which has been used to treat Ebola patients has provided some pretty good results.

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A large clinical study was performed on COVID-19 patients using Remdesivir was conducted starting last Friday. From a total of 53 patients that were tested with the drug 36 patients showed signs of improvement. Out of these 53 patients, 30 were on ventilators at the time of testing.

The report of the study was published in The New England Journal of Medicine:

During a median follow-up of 18 days, 36 patients (68%) had an improvement in oxygen-support class, including 17 of 30 patients (57%) receiving mechanical ventilation who were extubated. A total of 25 patients (47%) were discharged, and 7 patients (13%) died; mortality was 18% (6 of 34) among patients receiving invasive ventilation and 5% (1 of 19) among those not receiving invasive ventilation.

The results seem promising but more testing needs to be conducted. 12 patients did experience severe problems on the drug, but still, it is unclear if this was due to the drug or any other ongoing illness.

So as it stands currently there is no proven and effective measure or vaccine to stop coronavirus. But with all the testing and researchers trying hard all over the world, it may be a matter of time we hear some good news.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus has impacted every country in the world, the economy is hit hard, unemployment is at a new high in the US. Various organizations and companies are trying to develop methods to fight the pandemic and its effects. Even the tech has played a big part in this mission. Learn more about how IoT is helping to fight COVID-19.