Yesterday there was a setback in the progress of a treatment to cure Covid-19. It was learned that remdesivir (Gilead’s antiviral) had not shown sufficient clinical improvement in the first clinical trial and even had important side effects. The information was leaked on the WHO website and was later withdrawn. According to Gilead, these conclusions are associated with the trial that had to be stopped in China due to a lack of patients. Therefore these results are not conclusive and the company continues to be optimistic about its drug’s potential. Gilead expects to know the results soon.
In Link Securities’ opinion, the importance of discovering a viable treatment for the Chinese coronavirus is vital:
“Once restrictions on movement and confinement of citizens are lifted, citizens should be able to return to normal life with certain guarantees. As we have pointed out on many occasions, the development of a treatment and/or vaccine against the virus will be the real ‘turning point’ in this crisis”.
From the beginning, Gilead’s success story in Chicago has grown under a shadow of suspicion due to the limited information about the good results of remdesivir. Particularly because of doubts about the screening of patients undergoing treatment. The company’s sources suggested that the tests would have been conducted on “severely” ill people. However, there was speculation that the study excluded patients who were already on mechanical ventilation and others with a serious pathology.
Market expectation for finding “an effective” and, above all, easily accessible treatment for COVID-19 is very high. But this should not mean abandoning caution. Intermoney experts point out:
“Whatsmore, the World Health Organization flagged that there is no scientific evidence that those who have overcome the disease experience strong resistance to it, other than a small group of the population.
“So, despite the fact the global race against COVID-19 is likely to succeed in a few months, more cautious attitudes towards the new coronavirus may resurface in the coming days and, similarly, towards Trump’s plans to reopen the US economy.”
