Hopes tempered for made-in-edmonton antiviral drug remdesivir
EDMONTON More data is needed before deciding the antiviral drug remdesivir — made in Edmonton — is a “game-changer” in the fight against COVID-19, says a University of Alberta professor.
However, Matthias Gotte, chair of the medical microbiology and immunology department at the university, said a significant milestone was reached this week following clinical trials that showed the duration of symptoms dropping from 15 days to 11 with use of the drug.
Full details on the studies aren’t expected for another few weeks.
“This is not a game-changer,” Gotte said. “We have to wait really for the study results. We have to see exactly that the data are; who benefits, who does not benefit, what is the best timing to administer the drug? Is it early? Is it a little bit later? These are very important questions and we have to wait for the study to be published.”
The drug is manufactured by California-based Gilead Sciences Inc., which has two facilities in Edmonton. Karen Chow, director of public affairs for Gilead, said in an email Thursday the company employs more than 370 workers with the plant contributing to the production of remdesivir.
“In order to produce remdesivir, Gilead Sciences Inc., has set up a geographically diverse consortium of suppliers to help meet and exceed our production goals,” Chow said.
In an open letter posted on Tuesday, company chief executive Daniel O’day said it will be working to expand global capacity and called on every country to work together to ensure there is enough supply.
Remdesivir is used to treat other coronaviruses such as the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in animal models. The drug has not been approved as a treatment for COVID -19.
Gotte said it could take years to develop a treatment for COVID -19 from scratch but the process is sped up considerably when using an existing drug. A vaccine is still roughly a year away from being developed, he said.
Gotte highlighted a number of other issues with remdesivir, including that it’s not available orally. Instead, patients have to take it through an IV.
Production could also become an issue because of the complicated process needed to synthesize the drug, he said.
However, going from the discovery of the disease only a few months ago to completed clinical trials with a positive result is incredible, Gotte said.