The US’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the emergency use of the Ebola medication Remdesivir for treating COVID-19.
The approval implies the anti-viral medication would now be able to be applied to people who are hospitalized with extreme Covid-19.
An ongoing clinical preliminary demonstrated the medication abbreviated the recuperation time for people who were severely sick.
In any case, it didn’t fundamentally improve survival rates.
Experts have cautioned the medication – which was initially made to treat Ebola, and is delivered by Gilead pharmaceutical organization in California – can not be viewed as an “magic bullet” for COVID-19.
The medication overlaps with the infection’s genome, decreasing its capacity to duplicate.
During a meeting with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, Gilead Chief Executive Daniel O’Day said the FDA approval was a significant step.
The company would donate 1.5 million flasks of the medication, he stated.
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn stated at the meeting: “It’s the first authorized therapy for Covid-19, so we’re really proud to be part of it.”
Emergency FDA authorization is not the same as official approval, which needs a higher level of review.