Remdesivir and coronavirus: US Food and Drug Administration authorise Ebola drug for COVID-19 treatment - See wetin we sabi about am
Di US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) don give go ahead for di immediate use of Remdesivir drug, wey doctors dey use treat Ebola, to treat coronavirus.
Dis go ahead from di highest authority ontop drug and melecine mata for America mean say dem fit use di anti-viral drug (Remdesivir) on pipo wey dem hospitalise wit severe Covid-19 cases. One recent clinical trial show say remdesivir dey helep reduce di time of recovery for pipo wey dey seriously sick. But emergency FDA authorisation no be same as approval wey go need higher level of review. Sabi pipo still warn say make dem no use di drug wey Gilead pharmaceutical company develop to use treat Ebola as "magic bullet" for coronavirus. During one meeting wit US President Donald Trump for di Oval Office, Gilead Chief Executive, Daniel O'Day tok say di FDA authorisation na important first step. Di company go donate 1.5 million vials of di drug, O'Day add. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn also tok for di meeting say: "Dis na di first authorised therapy for Covid-19, so we dey really proud to be part of am." Wetin we sabi about Remdesivir? Dem originally develop Remdesivir to treat Ebola. Na antiviral drug wey dey work well to attack enzymes wey virus dey use multiply imsef inside cells for di bodi. Di drug dey cut di duration of coronavirus symptoms from 15 days down to 11 for clinical trial for hospitals around di world. Dem never publish di full details, but experts say e go be "fantastic result" if dem confam am, but e no be "magic bullet" for di disease. Drug go get di potential to save lives, reduce di pressure on hospitals and allow dem lift parts of lockdown. Di trial wey US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) run na 1,063 pipo participate Dem give some patients di drug and oda pipo receive placebo (dummy) treatment. Dr Anthony Fauci wey dey run NIAID tok say: "Di informate wey we don gada show say remdesivir get ogbonge positive effect to reduce di time for patients to recover." He tok say di results prove say " drug fit block di virus" and e dey "open to di fact say we don fit treat patients. E never dey clear how di drugs dey affect make patients no die. Di death rate na 8% for pipo wey dem give remdesivir and 11.6% for those wey dem give placebo, but dis result no really dey important because scientists no fit tell if di difference dey real. Some important questions? E no dey clear who dey benefit. Di drug dey allow pipo wey go still recover to recover fast-fast? Or e dey stop pipo to need treatment for intensive care? Remdesivir dey work pass for young pipo or older pipo? Or pipo wey no get or pipo wey get oda disease? Dem suppose treat patient early wen di virus don reach peak for bodi? Dis na di important questions wey dem never publish di full details as drug go helep save lives and help goment to lift lockdown. Prof Mahesh Parmar, di director of di MRC Clinical Trials Unit for UCL, wey bin dey oversee di trial for di EU, tok say: "Before dis drug fit dey available evriwia, plenti tins go happun. Dem go collect di data and results for regulators like WHO and FDA to look am well weda dem go license di drug and dem go still need relevant health authorities to fit get am for different kontris. "As dis dey happun, we go collect more data from dis trial and oda ones on weda di drug no go make pipo die from Covid-19." If medicine go stop make pipo no need intensive care, then hospitals no go too stress and social distancing go less. Prof Peter Horby, from di University of Oxford, dey run di world's largest trial of Covid-19 drugs. He tok say : "We need to see di full results, but if we fit confam am, na fantastic result and great news for di fight against Covid-19. "Di next steps na to get di informate about dis drug alias data out and work on how pipo go fit get remdesivir." Di US data on remdesivir don come out at di same time as one trial of di same drug for China, wey dem report for di Lancet medical journal, though e show say di drug no dey effective.