Preliminary results of Covid-19 drug treatment trial found to improve recovery

An international clinical trial, co-led by UCL and the Medical Research Council, which is testing the effectiveness of the drug remdesivir on patients hospitalised with Covid-19, has shown "very promising" preliminary results. Launched at the start of April, the Adaptive Covid-19 Treatment Trial (ACTT-EU/UK) trial, is taking place in about 75 hospitals globally, with the Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinical Trials Unit at UCL leading the UK and EU study. Other sites in the EU (Spain, Denmark and Germany) were coordinated by the University of Copenhagen The randomised controlled trial, which has recruited more than 1000 patients globally, aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the anti-viral drug remdesivir, as a treatment for Covid-19.The drug was originally developed to treat Ebola and Marburg virus infections. The UCL-led part of this trial has recruited 79 patients, including 46 from the UK, and 33 from Greece and was closed to new enrolments on April 19. Preliminary results released today* (Wednesday 29 April 2020) by the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) shows the speed of recovery for hospitalised Covid-19 patients treated with the drug was 31% faster than for those patients who had the placebo. Specifically, the average time to recovery was 11 days for patients treated with remdesivir compared with 15 days for those who received placebo. Preliminary results also suggested a survival benefit, with a mortality rate of 8.0% for the group receiving remdesivir versus 11.6% for the placebo group.