U.S. regulators will allow emergency use of an experimental drug that appears to help some coronavirus patients recover faster.
FILE - In this March 2020 photo provided by Gilead Sciences, rubber stoppers are placed onto filled vials of the investigational drug remdesivir at a Gilead manufacturing site in the United States. Given through an IV, the medication is designed to interfere with an enzyme that reproduces viral genetic material.
It is the first drug shown to help fight COVID-19, which has killed more than 230,000 people worldwide. The study of 1,063 patients is the largest and most strict test of the drug and included a comparison group that received just usual care so remdesivir’s effects could be rigorously evaluated. The FDA authorized the drug under its emergency powers to quickly speed experimental drugs, tests and other medical products to patients during public health crises.
No drugs are approved now for treating the coronavirus, and remdesivir will still need formal approval.
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