The experimental coronavirus treatment remdesivir has failed in its first randomised clinical trial, inadvertently released results have shown, dampening expectations for the closely watched drug.
A draft summary went online briefly on the website of the World Health Organisation and was first reported by the Financial Times and Stat, which posted a screenshot.
But Gilead Sciences, the company behind the medicine, disputed how the now-deleted post had characterised the findings, saying the data showed a "potential benefit." The summary said the Chinese trial involved 237 patients, with 158 on the drug and 79 in a control group.