Hancock hails remdesivir as ‘biggest step forward’ since crisis began as it becomes UK’s first approved coronavirus drug

MATT Hancock has hailed the first approved drug for tackling Covid-19 as the “biggest step forward” in treating coronavirus since the crisis began.

The Health Secretary said that antiviral drug remdesivir – originally developed to tackle Ebola – was given the green light for the NHS today.

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It comes after trials showed that it helped patients hospitalised with coronavirus recover almost a third faster.

And early data suggests it can slash the risk of dying by 31 per cent, but these findings were inconclusive.

Speaking at the daily Downing Street press briefing, Mr Hancock said: “I can announce that we’re beginning a new trial for selected NHS patients, of an antiviral drug called remdesivir.

“They’ve already been some promising early results on coronavirus patients, with early data suggesting you can shorten recovery time by around four days.

“As you can understand, we’ll be prioritising the use of this treatment where it will provide the greatest benefit.

“This is probably the biggest step forward in the treatment of coronavirus since the crisis began.”

The drugs watchdog gave the green light for selected patients to get “early access” to the treatment earlier today.

A statement from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency says: “Early results from clinical studies have shown that remdesivir reduced the time of recovery from 15 days to 11 days in patients with severe Covid-19 and possibly also reduced the proportion of people dying from Covid-19.

“Therefore, remdesivir is being made available for the treatment of hospitalized patients with severe Covid-19 disease.”

Antiviral drug remdesivir, which is given via an IV drip, works by interfering with the infection’s ability to reproduce.
Its US maker Gilead will provide the treatment to the NHS free of charge.

The drug was given the green light in the US on May 1 and Japan on May 8.
Due to limited supplies, doctors will only be able to prescribe the drug to those most likely to benefit.

Innovation Minister Lord Bethell said: “This shows fantastic progress. As we navigate this unprecedented period, we must be on the front foot of the latest medical advancements, while always ensuring patient safety remains a top priority.”

EARLY ACCESS

Earlier this month, a global clinical trial, which is continuing, found that remdesivir cut the length of time people suffered symptoms from 15 days to 11.

The trial involves around 1,000 patients from hospitals including the UK, US, France, Italy and China.

So far in the UK, over 36,000 people have died from the virus and a major trial could help curb the outbreak.

Earlier this month it was reported that a 14-year-old boy from Ipswich had been treated with the drug after he contracted Covid-19.

Doctors treating Jacob Tayel decided to try remdesivir – getting permission from the pharmaceutical company and hospital on compassionate grounds as the teen’s condition worsened.

Jacob woke up from his coma and is now working at getting back to full health.

It comes as scientists running the largest clinical trial for Covid-19 treatments said blood plasma from recovered patients is a “promising” option.

Experts are now calling for donations as they launch a major trial to assess its effectiveness.

Prof Martin Landray, from the University of Oxford, told the BBC Today programme: “There’s a lot of interest in convalescent plasma essentially, think of it as a sort of antibody transplant, if you like.”

Other experts have also said that it is the “most promising drug on offer at the moment”.

Dr Stephen Griffin, Associate Professor in the School of Medicine, University of Leeds said the drug is unaffected by safe guarding proteins, unlike other drugs that are currently being tested to help the fight against Covid-19.

He did however warn that the drug should not be seen as a “magic bullet” against the virus.

“We can instead hope for improved recovery rates and a reduction in patient mortality, which we hope will benefit as many patients as possible.

“More pronounced benefit is likely to be seen when treating patients with less severe disease, ideally before they require invasive respiratory support, but this will only follow once the drug is more widely available and will be guided by the final outcomes of ongoing placebo-controlled trials.”

Prof Peter Horby, from the University of Oxford, said: “It’s something we’re very excited about. It has shown promise in the past.

“In other infections like SARS and influenza, and the small case studies we’ve seen out of China in the US.

“So it really is something we think as an as a better chance of proving some effectiveness but still you know we have to be fairly neutral and that’s why we have to do the trials to be absolutely sure.”