Report: Remdesivir Reduced High Risk COVID-19 Hospitalizations By 87% In Trial

Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a Foster City, California-based, biopharmaceutical company that has pursued and achieved breakthroughs in medicine for more than three decades, with the goal of creating a healthier world for all people.  In a press release made public on Wednesday, Gilead stated “positive results from a Phase 3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, international trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a three-day course of Veklury^® (remdesivir) for intravenous (IV) use for the treatment of COVID-19 in non-hospitalized patients at high risk for disease progression. This late-breaking data will be presented at the IDWeek 2021 virtual conference.”

The company release further stated, “The antiviral drug was tested on over 500 patients considered high risk due to either their health conditions or age.  It was found that the drug reduced the risk of hospitalization by 87% by day 28 and reduced the risk of dying by 81%.”

562 people took part in the study.

Gilead’s press release additionally said, “Enrollment for this trial was stopped prior to fulfilling enrollment targets in April 2021, reflecting the changing epidemiology and adoption of additional treatment options at the time; however, the study continued to collect data on enrolled participants and both investigators and participants remained blinded to their assignment of Veklury or placebo. These results complement positive results from ACTT-1 and other studies in hospitalized patients in which Veklury helped patients recover significantly faster and reduced the likelihood of disease progression.”

All trial participants were required to have a positive COVID-19 diagnosis within four days of initiating the treatment and to have experienced symptoms for seven days or less.

The investigators also found that remdesivir can be safely administered in patients’ homes or residential care facilities, according to Bloomberg.