All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director Dr Randeep Guleria on Monday said that the anti-viral drug Remdesivir is not a magic bullet. According to him, the drug could in fact cause harm if given too early or too late.

"It's important to understand that Remdesivir isn't a magic bullet and isn't a drug that decreases mortality. We may use it as we don't have an anti-viral drug. It's of no use if given early to asymptomatic individuals/those with mild symptoms. It's also of no use if given late," he pointed out.

Remdesivir should only be given to patients who are hospitalised, have a fall in oxygen saturation and have infiltrates on the chest X-ray or CT-scan," the AIIMS Director said.

"In the last one year of COVID management, we have learnt that two things are most important – drugs and timing of drugs. If you give them too early or late, it would cause harm. Giving a cocktail of drugs on day 1 can kill your patient and would be more harmful.”

Interestingly, the WHO had in November last year issued a conditional recommendation against the use of Remdesivir in hospitalized patients. It had said “currently there is no evidence that Remdesivir improves survival and other outcomes in these patients.”

This recommendation, released on 20 November, is part of a living guideline on clinical care for COVID-19. It was developed by an international guideline development group, which includes 28 clinical care experts, 4 patient-partners and one ethicist.

The guidelines were developed in collaboration with the non-profit Magic Evidence Ecosystem Foundation (MAGIC), which provided methodologic support. The guidelines are an innovation, matching scientific standards with the speed required to respond to an ongoing pandemic.