Gilead Sciences' remdesivir shows encouraging results as recent news revealed 53 COVID-19 patients improved with the use of the drug. The uplifting results could prompt continuation of conducting more trials on the drug. However, experts say it is yet to be called a definite answer to the coronavirus situation.

The New England Journal of Medicine published on Friday, reported that the research revealed 53 coronavirus patients who had been given remdesivir, improved their condition through what's called "compassionate use" of the drug.

Over the course of 18 days, 68% of the patients displayed an improvement in their condition. Seventeen out of 30 patients on mechanical ventilation were able to get off the breathing machine, and almost half of the patients studied were eventually discharged from the hospital. Thirteen percent of the patients died, with mortality being highest in those who were hooked on a ventilator.

Scientists still urge health professionals to use the drug with caution as serious side effects have been reported in some cases. They also call for a need in further study on the drug as the recent study was an uncontrolled, small-scale study that although showed favorable results, still hasn't proved much.

What is Remdesivir?

Remdesivir is broad-spectrum antiviral scientists believe to work by blocking the virus from further reproducing itself in the body. Researchers at the University of North Carolina and Vanderbilt University discovered that the drug showed compelling activity against different types of coronaviruses similar to the new one we are dealing with now.

The drug, developed by Gilead Sciences, also showed some potential in treating MERS in previous research in animals. It was also widely promoted as a potential treatment for Ebola, but due to limited study, it failed to show any symbolic advantages.

A panel from the World Health Organization said that remdesivir was seen to be one of the most promising therapeutic candidates in treating COVID-19 based on its broad antiviral spectrum. President Trump also believed in its potential as he touted the drug during a press conference in March.

Existing data based on human and animal studies also supported this belief. The new research, however, failed to provide any information on whether the drug reduced levels of the virus in the patients' bodies, warranting skepticism from others.

Further Study Still Needed

The new research on remdesiriv had several warning signs. It was a small study, and the conductors of the study did not compare their patients' outcomes with a control group. Experts believe this should have been done to pinpoint whether the improvements were genuinely due to remdesivir, or whether they would have gotten better by themselves, without the administration of the drug.

Dr. Greg Poland, director of the Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group in Rochester, Minnesota, says the drug is a potentially positive piece of data in understanding what antivirals are going to be the most helpful. However, lead author Jonathan Grein admits that although hopeful, definitive conclusions still cannot be drawn from the data they gathered.

Gilead's chairman and chief executive officer, Daniel O'Day, adds that in studying remdesivir, the most crucial finding would be in determining which type of patients the drug would show effectivity.

He stresses that other questions that other factors that needed addressing included how long they should receive treatment and at what stage of their disease, the treatment would be most helpful. O'Day says that to come up with answers, more and bigger studies involving different types of patients are needed.

Still, the findings from the study remain hopeful for the fight against coronavirus, which, so far, has no definite cure or proven treatment.