WASHINGTON: Remdesivir has a “clear-cut” effect in helping COVID-19 patients recover, a top US scientist who oversaw a large clinical trial into the highly-anticipated antiviral said Wednesday, hailing it as proof that a drug can block the coronavirus.
Anthony Fauci made the remarks at the White House shortly after the medicine’s maker, Gilead Sciences, revealed it had met its primary goals in the largest and most robust investigation to date.
Fauci said “the data shows that remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery,” adding that it proves “that a drug can block this virus.”
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which Fauci leads, is soon expected to release a detailed summary of the results, so it remains difficult to quantify exactly how well the drug performed.
Nevertheless, it represents the first time any medication has been shown to improve outcomes against the COVID-19 illness, which has claimed more than 200,000 lives globally and brought the world economy to a grinding halt.
There had been mixed news about the intravenous antiviral in recent weeks. A summary of results posted on the website of the World Health Organization last week showed it failed in a smaller Chinese trial. The Lancet on Wednesday published the formal paper describing that experiment.
In this study of 237 patients in Wuhan, China, doctors found no positive effects of administering the drug compared with a control group of adults, except for those patients who required ventilators.
But the Chinese test had to be halted early because it could not recruit enough people to meet its initial goals, and was considered by many experts to be too small to draw reliable conclusions from.
Fauci said it was “not an adequate study.”
The US-led trial, however, which began in late February, is thus far the largest to investigate remdesivir and is technically the most robust.
According to a data sheet, its estimated enrollment was 800 patients, a portion of whom received the drug while the rest received a placebo, with the trial conducted at multiple sites across the world.
Neither the patients nor their physicians were aware of which group they belonged to, in order to eliminate unconscious bias.
Its main goal was to evaluate how long patients take to recover on versus off the drug — with three different categories of recovery: hospitalized but no longer needing oxygen; discharged from hospital but still limited in their home activities; and discharged from hospital with no limits on home activities.
Without numeric data it is hard to judge just how well patients did but Gilead’s statement indicates there was an overall improvement over the placebo.
It is a Phase 3 trial, the final stage before any medication can receive regulatory approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Remdesivir, which previously failed in trials against Ebola, belongs to a class of drugs that act on the virus directly — as opposed to controlling the abnormal and often lethal autoimmune response it causes.
It mimics one of the four building blocks of RNA and DNA and gets absorbed into the virus’s genome, which in turn stops the pathogen from replicating.
The antimalarial drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are also being widely used against COVID-19 on a so-called “compassionate basis” pending results from large trials, with early studies decidedly mixed.
Other therapies that are being studied include collecting antibodies from COVID-19 survivors and injecting them in patients, or harvesting antibodies from genetically-engineered mice that were deliberately infected.
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US says Remdesivir shows ‘clear-cut’ effect in treating coronavirus
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US says Remdesivir shows ‘clear-cut’ effect in treating coronavirus
- First time any medication has been shown to improve outcomes against the COVID-19 illness
- The US-led trial, which began in late February, is the largest to investigate remdesivir and is technically the most robust
Top diplomats of China, Cambodia and Thailand meet as Beijing seeks a stronger role in dispute
- The trilateral meeting Monday was held in a southwestern Chinese province north of the region where the dispute is still simmering
- The meeting came two days after Thailand and Cambodia signed a fresh ceasefire agreement
HONG KONG: Foreign ministers from Cambodia and Thailand convened with their Chinese counterpart on Monday as the Beijing government, building on its expanding presence in global diplomacy, sought to play a stronger mediating role in the violent border dispute between the two Southeast Asian countries.
The trilateral meeting, held in a southwestern Chinese province north of the contested border, came two days after Thailand and Cambodia signed a fresh ceasefire agreement to end weeks of fighting that killed more than 100 people and forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands on both sides of the border.
“We haven’t resolved everything, but I think we are making progress in the right direction and we have to keep up the momentum,” Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow told reporters after the meeting in Yunnan province. He said chief priorities are to ensure a sustained ceasefire and continue rebuilding trust.
It was noteworthy that the meeting was held in Yunnan, nearer to the dispute and to Southeast Asia, rather than in Beijing, the Chinese capital and seat of government about 2,500 kilometers (1,300 miles) northeast.
The meetings represented China’s latest efforts to strengthen its role as an international mediator and, in particular, its influence in Asian regional crises. As China grows into an economic and political force globally, Beijing has spent the past decade and more working in various ways to increase its voice as a third party in diplomatic matters.
Hopes for peace expressed
During the meeting Monday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for joint efforts to promote regional peace, stability and development — language typical for China in such situations.
“Allowing the flames of war to be reignited is absolutely not what the people of the two countries want and not what China, as your friend, wants to see. Therefore, we should resolutely look ahead and move forward,” Wang said.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn said he believed the latest ceasefire would last and would create an environment for both nations to resume previously agreed-upon ways to settle differences, according to a Chinese interpreter. Sihasak also expressed hopes for peace with neighboring countries.
After the meeting, Chinese official news agency Xinhua quoted Wang as saying the three nations reached a consensus to move forward with the ceasefire without reversal, maintain dialogue and restore ties between the two Southeast Asian countries step by step.
A statement released by Xinhua, the Cambodian state news agency Agence Kampuchea Presse and the Thai Foreign Ministry said the three sides had in-depth exchanges on maintaining the ceasefire. The next key step was to work toward resuming normal exchanges, it said. China said it was ready to provide immediate humanitarian assistance for displaced residents, the statement said.
The countries also agreed to take more robust measures to combat transnational crimes, including telecom and online scams, the statement said.
Sihasak and Prak Sokhonn had also held separate meetings with Wang on Sunday, the first day of the two-day gathering.
Disputes persist
The two Southeast Asian countries originally reached a ceasefire in July. It was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through under pressure from US President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. The preliminary pact was followed by a more detailed October agreement.
But Thailand and Cambodia carried on a bitter propaganda war, with minor, cross-border violence continuing. The tensions erupted into heavy fighting in early December.
The Saturday agreement calls for Thailand, after the ceasefire has held for 72 hours, to repatriate 18 Cambodian soldiers who have been held prisoner since the earlier fighting in July. Their release has been a major demand of the Cambodian side.
The agreement also calls on both sides to adhere to international agreements against deploying land mines, a major concern of Thailand.
Sihasak said Thailand would start repatriating the 18 Cambodian soldiers if the ceasefire could be maintained for 72 hours with no additional incidents. Thailand would also ask Cambodia to facilitate the return of remaining Thais in the Cambodian border city of Poipet, he said.
Also Monday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet issued a statement to all Cambodian combatants along the Thai border. “Even though we can still fight,” he said, “as a small country we still have nothing to gain from prolonging the fighting for a long time.”
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Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wasamon Audjarint in Bangkok and Liu Zheng in Beijing contributed to this report.
The trilateral meeting, held in a southwestern Chinese province north of the contested border, came two days after Thailand and Cambodia signed a fresh ceasefire agreement to end weeks of fighting that killed more than 100 people and forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands on both sides of the border.
“We haven’t resolved everything, but I think we are making progress in the right direction and we have to keep up the momentum,” Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow told reporters after the meeting in Yunnan province. He said chief priorities are to ensure a sustained ceasefire and continue rebuilding trust.
It was noteworthy that the meeting was held in Yunnan, nearer to the dispute and to Southeast Asia, rather than in Beijing, the Chinese capital and seat of government about 2,500 kilometers (1,300 miles) northeast.
The meetings represented China’s latest efforts to strengthen its role as an international mediator and, in particular, its influence in Asian regional crises. As China grows into an economic and political force globally, Beijing has spent the past decade and more working in various ways to increase its voice as a third party in diplomatic matters.
Hopes for peace expressed
During the meeting Monday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for joint efforts to promote regional peace, stability and development — language typical for China in such situations.
“Allowing the flames of war to be reignited is absolutely not what the people of the two countries want and not what China, as your friend, wants to see. Therefore, we should resolutely look ahead and move forward,” Wang said.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn said he believed the latest ceasefire would last and would create an environment for both nations to resume previously agreed-upon ways to settle differences, according to a Chinese interpreter. Sihasak also expressed hopes for peace with neighboring countries.
After the meeting, Chinese official news agency Xinhua quoted Wang as saying the three nations reached a consensus to move forward with the ceasefire without reversal, maintain dialogue and restore ties between the two Southeast Asian countries step by step.
A statement released by Xinhua, the Cambodian state news agency Agence Kampuchea Presse and the Thai Foreign Ministry said the three sides had in-depth exchanges on maintaining the ceasefire. The next key step was to work toward resuming normal exchanges, it said. China said it was ready to provide immediate humanitarian assistance for displaced residents, the statement said.
The countries also agreed to take more robust measures to combat transnational crimes, including telecom and online scams, the statement said.
Sihasak and Prak Sokhonn had also held separate meetings with Wang on Sunday, the first day of the two-day gathering.
Disputes persist
The two Southeast Asian countries originally reached a ceasefire in July. It was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through under pressure from US President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. The preliminary pact was followed by a more detailed October agreement.
But Thailand and Cambodia carried on a bitter propaganda war, with minor, cross-border violence continuing. The tensions erupted into heavy fighting in early December.
The Saturday agreement calls for Thailand, after the ceasefire has held for 72 hours, to repatriate 18 Cambodian soldiers who have been held prisoner since the earlier fighting in July. Their release has been a major demand of the Cambodian side.
The agreement also calls on both sides to adhere to international agreements against deploying land mines, a major concern of Thailand.
Sihasak said Thailand would start repatriating the 18 Cambodian soldiers if the ceasefire could be maintained for 72 hours with no additional incidents. Thailand would also ask Cambodia to facilitate the return of remaining Thais in the Cambodian border city of Poipet, he said.
Also Monday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet issued a statement to all Cambodian combatants along the Thai border. “Even though we can still fight,” he said, “as a small country we still have nothing to gain from prolonging the fighting for a long time.”
___
Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wasamon Audjarint in Bangkok and Liu Zheng in Beijing contributed to this report.
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