3 ms·

68% Improvement in Covid 19 Patients Treated with Remdesivir

• vikramkr 7y ago
  Very promising early results. The caveats for non scientists to be aware of is that these are not randomized trials with a placebo and all - this is just through a mechanism called "compassionate use" that allows Gilead to give people the drug. Also, 68% of patients improved, the title implies that patients say a 68% improvement in their symptoms which is not the case, the 68% is the number of patients improved divided by total number of patients. To get a good picture of how much the drug improves outcomes compared to not having the drug administered, we need large placebo controlled randomized trials so we can get the statistical signal to see if it works and how well it works. As the paper states, those trials are underway.
• HarryHirsch 7y ago
  It's a good start, certainly good for Gilead and the wealthy who can afford it. The trouble is that the synthesis is a multistep horror that is difficult to scale up. There is a step to install the nitrile group, which seems to be required, which takes place at dry-ice temperature. And you need gram amounts per patient and the drug comes as a lyophilized powder, to be reconstituted and taken by injection. Not a game-changer, when you have millions infected, many in poor parts of the world.
• deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
• foobarbazetc 7y ago
  Yawn...
  • dang 7y ago
    Please don't do this here.