The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) of the U.S has said that remdesivir drug can now be used on all patients. It is said to have reduced the recovery time to mere five days during the clinical trials of the drug.
This drug namely Veklury is the first of its nature to have received the FDA’s approval. Although, it was only last week that WHO had said in a statement that remdesivir had little or no impact on the recovery of the patient. This was found out by WHO while conducting its own trial but the drug manufacture has refuted the findings of this trial.
Earlier, this was authorised only for emergency use but now it has received full approval from the FDA to be used on all patients for a speedy recovery. It was this drug only that was given to the United States President Donald Trump after him getting tested positive. He has since that time recovered very quickly.
The requirements however include that you have to be of more than 12 years of age and must weigh at the very least 40 kilograms (88 pounds) if you are to receive the drug. This approval is supported by various trials conducted over a huge span of time and at the same time it is a scientific milestone that has been achieved, it will play a vital role in the pandemic.
Three randomised clinical trials were performed before the FDA approved of this method of treatment on the general public, these trials including patients from the entire spectrum that is mild as well as severe symptoms.
The WHO had separate trials for not one but four potential treatments against the virus, remdesivir was one of those but the WHO was not satisfied with the results of the same. The other drugs that were put under trial include: malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, auto immune drug interferon and HIV drug combination that is lopinavir and ritonavir. The testing done by WHO was extensive and included more than 30 countries and 11,266 adults.
All of these results remain under scrutiny as they are yet to be peer reviewed, which suggests that none of these have had a substantial effect on the treatment. The FDA however has a different approach and has allowed the use of this drug to save millions from the deadly virus.