RICHMOND, Va. -- The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization on Friday for the drug remdesivir to treat the coronavirus.
The antiviral drug remdesivir was developed by Gilead Sciences Inc. and used experimentally to treat Ebola.
VCU is one of the handful of institutions in the United States to make clinical trials of remdesivir available to patients who meet the criteria for this investigational drug. The first randomized, controlled tests in the U.S. began in February [icm-tracking.meltwater.com].
“The selection of VCU as a site for this global trial reflects our ability to bring multidisciplinary care to clinical trials and in having the capacity, the breadth and the depth of expertise needed to manage these patients,” said Doctor Arun Sanyal, a professor of Internal Medicine [icm-tracking.meltwater.com] in the VCU School of Medicine [icm-tracking.meltwater.com].
"Between 50 to 60 percent of patients were able to go home within 10 days of coming to the hosptila," Sanyal said, adding that those who started treatment within the first 10 days seemed to do better than patients given the drug later in treatment.
"This is very encouraging news for patients with COVID-19," Sanyal said.