New York: Remdesivir, the anti-viral drug that has shown promise in the fight against COVID-19, has been backed by more researchers.
A recent study, published in the journal Cell Reports, says that remdesivir potently inhibits the virus which causes COVID-19 in human lung cell cultures and improved lung function in mice infected with the virus.
“All of the results with remdesivir have been very encouraging, even more so than we would have hoped,” said one of the authors, Andrea Pruijssers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) in the US. “But it is still investigational, so it was important to directly demonstrate its activity against SARS-CoV-2 in the lab and in an animal model of disease.”
“We also are focusing on how to use remdesivir and other drugs in combinations to increase their effectiveness during COVID-19 and to be able to treat at different times of infection. Broad-spectrum antiviral drugs, antibodies, and vaccines are needed to combat the current pandemic and those that will emerge in the future,” the researchers said.
Remdesivir has been prescribed for hospitalised COVID-positive patients on a compassionate use basis since late January and through clinical trials since February.
In April, a preliminary report from the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial said that patients who received the drug recovered more quickly.
Ongoing trials will determine how much it benefits patients in different stages of the disease.
