Gilead says remdesivir helped moderate COVID-19 patients improve

Gilead Sciences Inc said on Monday results from a study showed its antiviral drug remdesivir demonstrated significantly greater clinical improvement in patients with moderate COVID-19.

Remdesivir is being closely watched after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization on May 1, citing results from another study run by the National Institutes of Health that showed the drug reduced hospitalization stays by 31%, or about four days, compared to a placebo.

The new results announced by Gilead are from a study designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of 5- and 10-day treatment with remdesivir in addition to standard of care for patients with moderate COVID-19, compared with standard care alone.