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WHO No-Go Not A Swan Song For Remdesivir In India?

 
• By Anju Ghangurde

The WHO’s new "living guideline" against remdesivir’s use in hospitalized patients notwithstanding, some key opinion leaders in India see a role for the antiviral, but underscore that COVID-19 is still in its infancy and all repurposed therapies for the disease still have a long way to go. They also see the US remdesivir studies as more robust.

Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 18.3.2020. Concept of medical bottle with new possible cure for Coronavirus COVID 19. Remdesivir therapy for Korona virus medication potential drug
Remdesivir's Fortunes Fluctuate • Source: Shutterstock

The fortunes and perceptions of COVID-19 therapies can change rather quickly. Remdesivir’s journey from presidential praise in the US and huge demand gaps to black marketing (at least in India), and now a setback following a World Health Organization expert panel’s advise against the antiviral’s use in hospitalized patients regardless of disease severity, perhaps captures some of the varying fortunes.

The epitaph of Gilead Sciences, Inc.’s star drug, sold as Veklury, is not by any measure being written. It was the first treatment for COVID-19 to receive US Food and Drug Administration approval in October and has already notched sales of $873m in the third quarter, and the company is not going along with the WHO’s assessment

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