Remdesivir is an antiviral medication that targets a range of viruses. It was originally developed over a decade ago to treat hepatitis C and a cold-like virus called respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
However, remdesivir wasn’t an effective treatment for either disease. But it showed promise against other viruses. According to reports, researchers tested remdesivir in clinical trials during the Ebola outbreak. Although, other investigation medications worked better results, it was shown to be safe for patients.
Studies in cells and animals suggested that remdesivir was effective against viruses in the coronavirus family, such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
Dr. Amitkumar Shah, DNB Medicine, Consultant Physician at AXIS Hospital, says, “It is an antiviral drug used for the treatment of coronavirus disease in hospitalized patients. It is used either with Dexamethasone or Baricitinib. It hastens recovery time but has not demonstrated clearly whether it reduces mortality or not. It is recommended to use in hospitalized patients with hypoxia not yet on oxygen, those on low flow supplemental oxygen. It is less beneficial in patients on high flow supplemental oxygen, noninvasive or invasive ventilation.”
By interrupting the production of the virus Remdesivir works to fight the viruses. Coronaviruses have genomes made up ribonucleic acid (RNA).
Moreover, reports also say that remdesivir interferes with one of the key enzymes the virus needs to replicate RNA which prevents the virus from multiplying.
Researchers began a randomized, controlled trial of the antiviral in February 2020 to test whether remdesivir could be used to treat SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
By April 2020, early results indicated that remdesivir accelerated recovery for hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19. Hence, it became the first drug to receive emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat people hospitalized with COVID-19.
