After its expert panel found no impact on mortality from the use of the antiviral drug remdesivir, the World Health Organisation recommended against having it as a treatment for COVID-19 for hospitalised patients.
Now, the intergovernmental organisation has removed the drug from its prequalification list.
"Yes we have suspended it from the PQ (prequalification list)," Tarik Jasarevic said in an emailed response to Reuters. "The suspension is a signal to countries that WHO, in compliance with the treatment guidelines, does not recommend countries procure the drug for COVID."
He added that the WHO was not aware that any international procurers were providing the drug to low- and middle-income countries.
Last month, India had given 3,000 vials of remdesivir to Myanmar during the visit of Army chief General Naravane and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla to the country. India had granted emergency use authorisation for the drug in June.
Earlier, the WHO’s SOLIDARITY trial had published its interim results, data from which was reviewed by an international guidelines development group creating a ‘living guideline’ for clinical care for COVID-19. The panel found that data from over 7,000 patients from across 4 trials showed “no important effect on mortality, need for mechanical ventilation, time to clinical improvement and other patient-important outcomes”.
India had approved emergency use for the drug in June. In fact, several nations adopted the drug for use (the European Commission has yet to update its norms for usage of the drug). Remdesivir was also taken by none other than US President Donald Trump after he contracted COVID-19. Trump had publicly bragged about buying up the world’s entire stock of Remdesivir for Americans in July. However, as early as April, the drug was reported as having failed its clinical trials in data then accidentally published by the WHO.
Gilead, the drug’s maker, had claimed remdesivir was effective against the virus in the US, claiming its use was “associated with an improvement in clinical recovery and a 62 percent reduction in the risk of mortality compared with standard of care”.
In a response to the WHO’s statement, Gilead said it was disappointed that WHO guidelines “appear to ignore” evidence from “multiple randomized, controlled studies published in peer-reviewed journals that demonstrate the clinical benefits of Veklury [remdesivir], such as significantly faster recovery, which can free up limited hospital resources,” noting that the drug had approvals or authorizations in approximately 50 countries.
