Antiviral drug may cut COVID-19 recovery time, reduce death rate

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2020-05-26 09:56

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Preliminary results from a thousand-patient trial of the antiviral drug remdesivir has found it shortened the time to recovery in adults hospitalized with COVID-19. Patients taking remdesivir had a median recovery time of 11 days, and an estimated mortality rate of 7.1 per cent - compared to the placebo group which had 14 day median recovery time and 11.9 per cent estimated mortality. The researchers say it is clear that treatment with an antiviral drug alone is not sufficient, given the high mortality despite the use of remdesivir. These results were used to inform the United States FDA’s emergency authorisation of remdesivir to treat COVID-19.