U.S. Launches First Clinical Trial of Remdesivir for COVID-19 Treatment
Gilead Sciences
Antiviral Drug Developer
University of Nebraska Medical Center
The University of Nebraska Medical Center is a historic public academic health science center in Nebraska, USA. Established in 1880, it is the largest medical center in the surrounding region. The University of Nebraska Medical Center comprises the following colleges: College of Medicine, College of Dentistry, College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy, College of Public Health, College of Allied Health Professions, and College of Continuing Education. These colleges offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs, primarily in medical specialties, as well as in other comprehensive disciplines.
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), which began in 1887 as a one-room hygiene laboratory, has since become one of the world’s most important medical research centers. As an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the NIH serves as the federal government’s principal center for health research.The NIH is the steward of medical and behavioral research for the nation. Its mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and to apply that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability.
The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced on the 25th that it has launched the first clinical trial of the antiviral drug remdesivir for treating COVID-19 at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in the United States, conducted using a randomized, placebo-controlled method.
The first patient enrolled in the trial was an American repatriated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) stated that participants must test positive for SARS-CoV-2 via nucleic acid testing and exhibit pulmonary infection; individuals who test positive but have mild or no symptoms are ineligible.
Remdesivir is a broad-spectrum antiviral drug under development by Gilead Sciences, Inc. in the United States. Initially, the drug was primarily used to treat diseases such as Ebola and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and it remains in the clinical trial phase. Earlier this month, Gilead Sciences announced that it had reached an agreement with Chinese health authorities to conduct two clinical trials of remdesivir for the treatment of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan.
In vaccine development, several U.S. companies are accelerating their efforts. On the 24th, Moderna, a biotechnology firm based in Massachusetts, announced that it had delivered its first batch of the novel coronavirus vaccine, mRNA-1273, to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for Phase I clinical trials. U.S. media reported that this pace set a record.
“We urgently need safe and effective treatments for the novel coronavirus,” said Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, at a press conference held by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the 25th. However, Fauci also emphasized that “even at warp speed,” it would take at least one year before a vaccine could be truly deployed for use.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on the 25th that, as of noon that day, four new cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in the United States, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 57. Among these, 40 were repatriated individuals from the Japanese cruise ship “Diamond Princess,” three were repatriates from Wuhan, China, and 14 were locally transmitted cases identified within the United States. The CDC issued a warning urging the American public to prepare for potential outbreaks of COVID-19 in communities across the country.
At a press conference on the 25th, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar confirmed that the Trump administration had requested at least $2.5 billion in emergency funding from Congress and urged lawmakers to approve the funds to combat the spread of the epidemic.