• Animal trials conducted at the US National Institute of Health on COVID-19 infected macaque monkeys have shown reduced lung damage and speedy recovery from early symptoms.
• The drug has now been cleared for human trials across several countries to be used on severely-ill patients.

In a recent research study published in the medical journal Nature, the antivirus drug Remdesivir by Gilead Sciences has been known to prevent lung diseases in macaque monkeys. As various nations look to the treatment of COVID-19 that has killed approximately killed 4,00,000 people and infected about 7 million, this drug has also shown to improve lung condition during the COVID-19 human trials. 

The details of the macaque monkey trials were released by the United States in April but the step to validate the study through a review by peers was skipped. During the animal trials of COVID-19, 12 macaque monkeys were intentionally infected with the Coronavirus and half of them were treated early with Remdesivir. During the research, it was detected that the monkeys stopped showing signs of the virus in 3 days and after the treatment was complete, it was discovered that the monkeys treated with Remdesivir showed reduced damage to lungs and did not show any signs of respiratory infection.

After the completion of the research study, the authors recommended Remdesivir be used in the early stages for the treatment of Coronavirus so that the progression of the disease to cause pneumonia can be prevented in COVID-19 patients.

The drug has already received approval in the United States, India, and South Korea to be used for patients severely ill because of the virus. Human trials for the drug are already underway and early data received has shown encouraging signs with patients recovering at a quicker rate.

There are however challenges and concerns with human trials because it is difficult to translate the timing at which the drugs are to be given and human susceptibility to the disease. After all, according to the study, macaque monkeys only show mild symptoms. Therefore, the treatment using Remdesivir should be initiated as quickly as possible in affected patients to achieve the best results.

Source Credits: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/coronavirus-gileads-remdesivir-drug-shows-promise-in-covid-19-study-on-monkeys-2243448