Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Remdesivir Was Fated To Join Antiviral Drug Graveyard, But It's Getting Another Shot At Success
The New York Times: How Remdesivir, New Hope For Covid-19 Patients, Was Resurrected
Remdesivir, an antiviral drug designed to treat both hepatitis and a common respiratory virus, seemed fated to join thousands of other failed medications after proving useless against those diseases. The drug was consigned to the pharmaceutical scrap heap, all but forgotten by the scientists who once championed it. But on Friday, the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency approval for remdesivir as a treatment for patients severely ill with Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. (Kolata, 5/1)
Stat: How Does Gilead's Drug Remdesivir Work Against The Coronavirus?
Remdesivir was originally created as a general antiviral and was later tested in Ebola patients, though it did not perform well in a landmark trial. Watch the explainer above to learn how remdesivir works against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19. (Hogan, 5/4)
The Associated Press: FDA Allows Emergency Use Of Drug For Coronavirus
U.S. regulators on Friday allowed emergency use of an experimental drug that appears to help some coronavirus patients recover faster. It is the first drug shown to help fight COVID-19, which has killed more than 230,000 people worldwide. The Food and Drug Administration acted after preliminary results from a government-sponsored study showed that Gilead Sciences' remdesivir shortened the time to recovery by 31%, or about four days on average, for hospitalized COVID-19 patients. (5/1)
San Francisco Chronicle: Gilead Donates 1.5 Million Vials Of Breakthrough Drug For COVID-19 Patients
More than 1.5 million vials of remdesivir — the breakthrough antiviral drug shown to help COVID-19 patients recover faster — will go to the most critically ill patients in the nation early this week, said Daniel O’Day, CEO of Foster City’s Gilead Sciences, which created the drug. O’Day said the biopharmaceutical company donated its entire supply, enough for 100,000 to 200,000 treatments, to the federal government, which will determine where to send the drug in the coming days. (Sanchez, 5/3)
CNN: Remdesivir: US Government Will Decide Where Drug Goes Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, Gilead Says
In early results from a trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, remdesivir was found to shorten the duration of illness in patients with severe Covid-19, but it had no statistically significant effect on whether patients died. "We intend to get [remdesivir] to patients in the early part of this next week, beginning to work with the government, which will determine which cities are most vulnerable and where the patients are that need this medicine," O'Day said on CBS' "Face the Nation" this weekend. (Azad, 5/3)
CNBC: Coronavirus Remdesivir Update: Gilead CEO Says Drug Available To Patients This Week
Gilead released preliminary results from its clinical trial on its antiviral drug remdesivir last week, showing at least 50% of the COVID-19 patients treated with a five-day dosage of the drug improved. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases then released a study that showed Covid-19 patients who took remdesivir usually recovered after 11 days, four days faster than those who didn’t take the drug. (Fitzgerald, 5/3)
NPR: Remdesivir-Maker Gilead's Lobbying Hit New High In 1st Quarter
Gilead Sciences, the drugmaker behind the experimental COVID-19 treatment remdesivir, spent more on lobbying Congress and the administration in the first quarter of 2020 than it ever has before, according to federal filings. The pharmaceutical company spent $2.45 million on lobbying in the first three months of the year, a 32% increase over the $1.86 million it spent in the first quarter of 2019. (Lupkin, 5/2)
In other treatment news —
Politico: Coronavirus Gets A Promising Drug. MAGA World Isn’t Buying It.
Over three weeks ago, hydroxychloroquine was all the rage in MAGA world, despite flawed and scattered evidence about whether the drug could help cure coronavirus. Now there is another drug, remdesivir, with positive early scientific data. Much of MAGA world wants little to do with it. (Nguyen, 5/2)
The Wall Street Journal: Researchers Explore Using Common Blood-Plasma Treatment To Fight Coronavirus
Researchers are investigating whether a common blood-plasma product used in treating immune-system disorders could also be effective in coronavirus patients and potentially shape future trials of new treatments specific to Covid-19. Already, some industry experts have raised concerns that new demand for the product, intravenous immunoglobulin, or IVIG, for experimental treatment of Covid-19 patients could lead to shortages for patients with conditions for whom the benefit is proven. (Cherney and Marcus, 5/3)
CNBC: Coronavirus Drug Approvals But Doubts Remain On Manufacturing Vaccine
There were several major developments over the last week with the medical community marking progress in all three critical areas: testing, treatments and vaccines. Experts have welcomed positive data on potential treatments and progress on testing, but warn that vaccine timelines look ambitious and argue more thought is needed on manufacturing. (Tatelbaum, 5/4)
Kaiser Health News: Listen: A New Hope In The Battle Against COVID-19
Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for Kaiser Health News, participated in the Friday news roundup on “1A,” a program of WAMU and NPR. The program, hosted by Celeste Headlee, explored new study results suggesting that remdesivir may help some COVID patients, expectations for a vaccine, and the economic and health consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. Guests on the show, who also included Yamiche Alcindor from PBS NewsHour and Jim Tankersley of The New York Times, also took questions from listeners. You can hear the discussion here. (5/1)
