Coronavirus Drug Tested In MA Hospitals Has 'Clear-Cut' Benefits

An experimental drug tested in Massachusetts has yielded promising early returns in the battle against COVID-19. Remdesivir, from California-based Gilead, was tested at Massachusetts General Hospital and UMass Memorial, among a few dozen other hospitals across the United States.

The drug helped patients recover 31 percent faster than patients who received a placebo in a federally run trial, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said Wednesday. The recovery time for patients receiving remdesivir went from 15 to 11 days.

"The data shows that remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery," Dr. Anthony Fauci said.

There was also a small but encouraging improvement in survival rate.

"It is a very important proof of concept, because what it has proved is that a drug can block this virus," Fauci said. "This is very optimistic."

Fauci said remdesivir still needs to undergo further review and testing, urging caution even as The New York Times reported the White House looks to accelerate the development of a vaccine.

The Associated Press reported earlier this month there was reason for optimism in early trials on remdesivir.

"It looks encouraging," Dr. Elizabeth Hohmann, an MGH infectious disease specialist who was helping lead one of the studies, said at the time.