The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the USA has officially authorized the use of Remdesivir for treatment of Covid-19.
This drug was first tested on treatment of Ebola in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The drug is produced by an American pharmaceutical company known as Gilead. However, experts have warned that since it was designed for treatment of Ebola and not Covid-19 hence should not be used as a “magic bullet.”
The drug is so far known to interfere with the genome of the virus making it impossible to replicate.
Meanwhile FDA has indicated that this is the first authorized therapy in the world for Covid-19.
Facts about Remdesivir according to BBC
- The drug did not cure Ebola and according to Gilead it has serious side effects;
- However, during its clinical trials by US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases it was reported that the drug reduces the duration of symptoms from 15 days to 11 days;
- The drug was tested on 1,063 people at hospitals around the world in US, China, South Korea, Italy and France;
- Basically the drug diminishes the time of recovery
Cost of treatment
According to the Institute of Clinical and Economic Review, the 10-day course of treatment using remdesivir will cost $10 but also noted that the price is likely to be as high as $4,500.
