India to consider use of Ebola-drug Remdesivir to treat critical coronavirus patients?

The compassionate use of Remdesivir, a drug used during the outbreak of Ebola, has yielded some favourable results with respect to the fight against the novel coronavirus. Gilead Sciences Inc.'s experimental drug for patients with severe Covid-19 infection is showing promise in an early analysis, raising tentative hope that the first treatment for the virus may be on the horizon.

Director of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Dr Raman Gangakhedkar dropped hints that India is taking into account data from this drug in its 'solidarity' clinical trials as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

When administered, two out of three critical Covid-19 patients who were dependent on oxygen support and ventilators showed signs of improvement. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine speaks about the compassionate use and inference of Remdesivir.

ICMR director Dr Raman Gangakhedkar said, "Remdesivir a drug that was being used in Ebola outbreak. The drug acts on the mutation of the Covid-19 virus, which is why researchers believe that it could work."

However, the ICMR director clarified that it was not a clinical trial. "The study was not a clinical trial but an observational study, some people who have been administered the drug are being checked. It was found that 68 per cent, or 2 out of 3 patients did not need ventilator support or oxygen support after the drug was given to them."

"These patients were those with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection who had an oxygen saturation of 94 per cent or less while they were breathing ambient air or who were receiving oxygen support. Patients received a 10-day course of Remdesivir, consisting of 200 mg administered intravenously on day 1, followed by 100 mg daily for the remaining nine days of treatment," reads the report.

"This report is based on data from patients who received Remdesivir during the period from January 25, 2020, through March 7, 2020, and have clinical data for at least 1 subsequent day," states the New England Journal of Medicine.

The journal goes further to say that of the 61 patients who received at least one dose of Remdesivir, data from 8 could not be analyzed (including 7 patients with no post-treatment data and 1 with a dosing error). Of the 53 patients whose data were analyzed, 22 were in the United States, 22 in Europe or Canada, and 9 in Japan.

"At baseline, 30 patients (57 per cent) were receiving mechanical ventilation and 4 (8 per cent) were receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. During a median follow-up of 18 days, 36 patients (68 per cent) had an improvement in oxygen-support class, including 17 of 30 patients (57 per cent) receiving mechanical ventilation who were extubated. A total of 25 patients (47 per cent) were discharged, and 7 patients (13 per cent) died; mortality was 18 per cent (6 of 34) among patients receiving invasive ventilation and 5 per cent (1 of 19) among those not receiving invasive ventilation," said the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

"It is a product made by Gilead company. ICMR is participating in a solidarity trial with WHO, an arm of that solidarity trial is also working on the efficaciousness of Remdesivir. Can pharmaceutical companies make it, once we know that then we shall move forward from there," said ICMR director Dr Raman Gangakhedkar.