The first drug to receive European marketing authorization to treat severe forms of Covid-19, remdesivir is not recommended by the World Health Organization for lack of evidence of its effectiveness.
- Remdesivir is not advised for patients admitted to hospital with Covid-19, regardless of the severity of their illness.
- The antiviral has dangerous side effects for patients.
Over time, we see more clearly what works and does not work against the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Considered for a time as an effective treatment for treating severe forms of the disease, remdesivir was one of the first drugs to be granted marketing authorization in the United States and the first on European soil. Over time, studies have tempered the effectiveness of the antiviral, leading the High Health Authority to share “a lot of uncertainties” on its effects in treating patients, in a press release published on September 17.
Dangerous side effects
This Friday, November 20, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended not to administer remdesivir to treat hospitalized Covid-19 patients. “The antiviral drug remdesivir is not advised for patients admitted to hospital with Covid-19, regardless of the severity of their illness, as there is currently no evidence that it improves survival or that it avoids being placed on artificial ventilation”, specifies the WHO in a press release. These conclusions result from the opinion of the Organization’s experts, who relied on four international clinical trials which compared the effectiveness of different treatments on 7,000 patients throughout the world.
Not only does remdesivir appear ineffective, but it has dangerous side effects for patients. On October 2, the European Medicines Agency indicated possible “acute kidney problems” caused by the antiviral. The latter adds, in conclusions published in the British Medical Journalthan “its relatively high cost and logistical implications” – the antiviral can only be transmitted intravenously – justify the end of its recommendation.
The corticosteroids, the only effective treatments
Among all the treatments that have offered hope for treating patients with Covid-19, only corticosteroids, in particular dexamethasone, have shown real effectiveness. These drugs should be used with caution and have shown an effect only in severe cases requiring oxygenation. The WHO went on to recommend their “routine use in patients with a severe or critical form”.
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