WHO recommends against the use of Remdesivir in Covid-19 patients

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a conditional recommendation against the use of Remdesivir in hospitalized patients, regardless of disease severity, as there is currently no evidence that remdesivir improves survival and other outcomes in these patients.

WHO today notified that the antiviral drug remdesivir should not be used to treat Covid-19 patients no matter how ill they are as there is no evidence it works.

"The panel found a lack of evidence that remdesivir improved outcomes that matter to patients such as reduced mortality, need for mechanical ventilation, time to clinical improvement, and others," WHO's Guideline Development Group (GDG) panel said in a statement.

"Any beneficial effects of remdesivir, if they do exist, are likely to be small and the possibility of important harm remains," the panel added.

After studying the suggestion, the panel concluded that remdesivir has no meaningful effect on death rates or other important outcomes for patients.

"Especially given the costs and resource implications associated with remdesivir… The panel felt the responsibility should be on demonstrating evidence of efficacy, which is not established by the currently available data," it said.

The antiviral is one of only two medicines currently authorized to treat Covid-19 patients across the world.

It has been approved for use in the US, the European Union and other countries after initial research found it may shorten recovery time in some Covid-19 patients..