All the hopes of the European Solidarity and Discovery clinical trials now rest on remdesivir to treat patients infected with Covid-19.
- Of the four therapeutic options studied by the Solidarity and Discovery clinical trials, only Remdesivir remains
- Hydroxychloroquine and the two treatments based on the lopinavir / ritonavir combination have been withdrawn, due to lack of results and because of side effects on the health of patients
- France has ensured the availability of sufficient doses of remdesivir
The avenues of treatment against the coronavirus are dwindling over time. Four therapeutic options were on the starting line: the combination of two antivirals used against HIV infection (lopinavir/ritonavir, sold under the name Kaletra), lopinavir/ritonavir associated with interferon beta (to fight against multiple sclerosis), hydroxychloroquine (an antimalarial) and remdesivir.
After several months of trials, only remdesivir remains, previously tested against the Ebola virus and which has shown promising results in animal studies for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
Donald Trump has acquired 90% of the stock of remdesivir
On June 17, the clinical trials Solidarity, led by the World Health Organization (WHO), and Discovery, conducted at European level, abandoned studies around hydroxychloroquine after studies showed its ineffectiveness in treating patients and that it presented cardiovascular risks for the patients. From now on, it is the treatment lopinavir / ritonavir, deemed ineffective and suspected of adverse effects on kidney function, which is withdrawn from the list of clinical trials. This decision was taken jointly on Saturday, by the WHO for the Solidarity trial and by French officials from Discovery. “Preliminary results show that hydroxychloroquine and the lopinavir/ritonavir combination do little or nothing to reduce the mortality of patients hospitalized with Covid-19 compared to standard care”, justifies the WHO in a press release published on July 4. This association has already been abandoned, at the end of June, by the British trial Recovery.
Remdesivir remains the last hope for treatment in these clinical trials. The drug was granted marketing authorization by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in mid-June. In May, the United States was the first to agree to use the antiviral to treat patients infected with Covid-19. This drug would, according to the first clinical trials, reduce the average length of hospitalization of an infected patient by 4 days. An efficiency that led Donald Trump to buy almost all of the stocks. The drug, however, has failed to show success in reducing mortality in infected patients.
More than 2,000 euros for a five-day treatment
France did not want to miss the remdesivir wagon. The Medicines Agency (ANSM) assured that “France has ensured the availability of sufficient doses” of this antiviral. The Gilaed laboratory, which produces the stocks of remdisivir, has set the price at $390 (€344) per vial in all developed countries, or $2,340 (€2,068) for a normal treatment of six vials in five days.
Dexamethasone, a drug from the steroid family, has proven its effectiveness against Covid-19. The results of a large British clinical trial showed that it made it possible to reduce mortality by a third in the most seriously affected patients and by a fifth in those who are less affected. The United Kingdom has already announced that it uses this drug to treat its patients.
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