WHO trial to assess other antibody, antiviral drugs after remdesivir doubt

Published Sat, Oct 17, 2020 · 06:08 AM

[GENEVA] The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday it would assess monoclonal antibodies and other antiviral drugs in its trial of potential Covid-19 treatments, after the trial found Gilead Science's remdesivir had no impact on survival rates.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said its Solidarity Trial would continue after it was launched in March in 500 hospitals in 30 countries to assess the efficacy of remdesivir and several other drugs in patients with Covid-19.

"The Solidarity Trial is still recruiting about 2,000 patients every month and will assess other treatments, including monoclonal antibodies and new antivirals," Tedros told a news conference.

The Solidarity Trial was at the centre of a dispute on Friday between the WHO and Gilead, the US company that developed remdesivir, which said the WHO trial's findings appeared inconsistent with evidence from other studies.

REUTERS