The US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has increased the use of remdesivir to treat all the hospitalised COVID-19 patients irrespective of the severity of the disease as the regulator believes the drug will be effective to all the suspected or laboratory confirmed COVID-19 in hospitals.
” The data show that this treatment has the potential to help even more hospitalised patients who is suffering from the effects of this devastating virus,” FDA commissioner Stephen M. Hahn said in a statement.
Remdesivir is currently adminstered intravenously and in hospital setting. Before this, the drug was given only to patients with the severe COVID-19, which was defined as those suffering from low blodd oxygen levels or requiring oxygen therapy or more intensive breathing support such as a mechanical ventilator.
The decision was took on the based result of 1062-patient study by National Institute of Allergy and Infection Disease, which the recovery time of hospitalised patients with mild-to-moderate symptoms of the disease as well as the odds of their improvement on day 15 of the treatment numerically favoured the remdesivir group compared with the placebo group, the US FDA said.
“As we learn more about the COVID-19 and we further establish the efficacy and safty profile of Veklury, we see benefit to making the drug available to patients at earlier stages of the disease,” Gilead Science chief medical officer Merdad Parsey said in the company’s statement.
In India, Gilad has given a licence for manufacturing and sale of remdesivir to Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Mylan, Jubilant Life Sciences, Hetero Drugs Ltd, Zydus Cadila and Bicon subsidiary Syngene International Ltd. so far, all the companies, except Syngene and Dr Reddy’s, have launches remdesivir.
