According to Dr. Fauci, the results of a recently conducted clinical trial of a potential COVID-19 treatment produced good results. According to an international study of remdesivir data, patients given the drug showed signs of recovering 31 percent faster as compared to those who were treated with a placebo.
Dr. Fauci made this revelation while talking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday. He was accompanied by President Donald Trump and Vice President Pence. Touting it as a very important proof of concept, he noted that a 31 percent improvement doesn't seem as good as a 100 percent success. Nevertheless, it shows that the virus can be blocked by a drug, he explained.
Moreover, Dr. Fauci said the drug will be the standard of care. The 8 percent drop in mortality rate in Remdesivir patients isn't significant when it comes to statistics. Patients who were given a placebo had a higher mortality rate of 11.6 percent, he noted.
There's more research needed to understand exactly how the drug impacts the COVID-19 mortality rate, Dr. Fauci said. Kicking off in Feb. this year, clinical trial assessed the safety, as well as the efficacy of remdesivir, which was originally developed by Gilead Sciences as an experimental drug, in 1,063 hospitalized adults with the infection.
This was America's first trial to check out an experimental treatment for the deadly COVID-19, The Hill reported. Speaking about the results, Dr. Fauci said, "We think it's really opening the door to the fact that we now have the capability of treating [COVID-19]."
With more and more people, investigators, and companies getting involved, Dr. Fauci guaranteed the drug will improve. The study has neither been published nor peer-reviewed until now. Scientists are hoping to see amazing results by using remdesivir as a potential COVID-19 treatment.
The drug was initially made to treat Ebola, but it turned out to not affect the life-threatening virus. However, the drug has shown positive signs against coronaviruses during the experiments. Scott Gottlieb, former Food and Drug Administration commissioner under President Trump told CNBC Wednesday that the drug is probably not a crowning accomplishment as far as treating COVID-19 is concerned, but it could restrict worse outcomes in people.
Confirming that it is highly unlikely to be a cure, Gottlieb said the drug can be used to reduce patient's chances of having a terrible outcome. This will be particularly useful for someone with risk factors that indicate they will have a worse outcome from the virus.