With 50% cure rate, Remdesivir Approved by FDA for Compassionate use on COVID-19 patients

With 50% cure rate, Remdesivir Approved by FDA for Compassionate use on COVID-19 patients.

….Hope rises as Remdesivir reportedly cures 50 percent of coronavirus patients.

….Remdesivir brings glimmer of hope as the world awaits vaccines.

The world is at a fix right now over the coronavirus pandemic but there seems to be a glimmer of hope as the antiviral drug remdesivir has reportedly cured 50 percent of COVID19 patients(after 5 days of taking the drug by real COVID19 patients) and has reduced the time of recovery from coronavirus by 30 percent..

The heart warming reports are from the results obtained from the second and third stages of clinical trials of Remdesivir being carried out by Pharmacological giants called Gilead.

This is a sneak peek into the recent documentary of the potential of the drug in curing coronavirus.

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This does not mean the world have arrived at a definitive treatment or cure for COVID19 but according to Dr Anthony Fauci,the head of the Infectious Disease Department fighting the COVID19 pandemic in the United States:”it is a form of open doors for other cures and a Remdesivir brings hope and restores confidence in the ability of Science”.

Earlier this week, the US Food and Drug Administration compassionately authorized remdesivir for emergency use in patients with severe Covid-19, and Gilead previously announced it would donate its existing supply of the drug.

Nigeria, the most populous black nation in the world with nearly 3,000 cases of COVID19 has already indicated interest in Remdesivir and has placed an order according to the Director General of the Infectious Disease Unit (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu. He made this revelation during his interview with CHANNELS TV on Sunday which was closely monitored by the NIGERIAN HEALTH BLOG.

In his words: “It’s a victory for science as it is the first drug to show clinical evidence of efficacy. We have already placed order for the drug. It’s a difficult process but we have started those conversations to enable access to Nigerians. We will speak to NAFDAC to speed up the regulatory process so that we can make this drug available to our people.” Dr Chikwe said.

The FDA-authorized drug is given through the vein, and its use is limited to hospitalized patients with severe disease. But Gilead said they are presently looking at other formulations of remdesivir too — including an inhaled version that could be given outside of the hospital.

Remdesivir has only been permitted for use by the Food and Drug Agency on compassionate basis
based on the times and has not received formal approval based on laid down rules.

What is compassionate drug use/approval?

According to cancer.org, compassionate drug use (or sometimes just compassionate use) is the use of a new, unapproved drug to treat a seriously ill patient when no other treatments are available.

Drugs that are being tested but have not yet been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are called investigational drugs. These drugs are normally available only to people who are taking part in a clinical trial (a research study that is testing the drug).

Being able to use one of these drugs when you are not in a clinical trial is most commonly referred to as compassionate drug use.

Some scientists and medical experts are however preaching caution as the side-effects and additional information about the drug has not been researched or at best is still being studied.

Finally, It is worthy of note that remdesivir was originally developed to treat Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus disease but was later abandoned when it was found to be ineffective for these viral infections.