A preclinical study in the US found that Gilead Sciences’ antiviral drug candidate remdesivir prevented disease progression in rhesus macaques monkeys with Covid-19.
The animals were infected with the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. Data announced by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) revealed a significant decrease in clinical disease and reduced lung damage in monkeys treated with the investigational antiviral drug.
The preclinical study involved dosing and treatment procedures being used in a clinical trial of remdesivir to treat hospitalised Covid-19 patients.
NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is leading the trial. In the preclinical study, one group of monkeys were given remdesivir while the