Thread by @DrDenaGrayson

🚨BREAKING: preliminary data from an ongoing clinical study of #remdesivir showed that in 113 patients with severe #COVID19:

▶️Fever/symptoms rapidly improved
▶️Most discharged within 6 days
▶️2 died (1.8%), much less than expected for severe #COVID19

statnews.com/2020/04/16/ear…

#Remdesivir is being studied in 2 clinical trials:

1⃣severe #COVID19 study of 2,400 patients from 152 sites all over the world
2⃣moderate #COVID19 study of 1,600 patients in 169 sites.

Results for the first 400 patients in the "severe" study are expected later this month.😃

I spent nearly a decade developing the closely related #galidesivir (BCX4430, we published in @nature) that is also being tested in #COVID19 patients.

These drugs decrease viral replication by blocking the virus' ability to make new RNA.

https://twitter.com/DrDenaGrayson/status/1248673895126691841?s=20

Another closely related drug #favipiravir that works the same way as #remdesivir and #galidesivir showed activity in a study of #COVID19 patients in #China.

There's a decent chance that 1 or more these drugs will prove effective against #coronavirus.🙏🏼

https://twitter.com/DrDenaGrayson/status/1240257063504281602?s=20

One patient with a fever of 104 and shortness of breath says after 1 dose of #remdesivir, “My fever dropped almost immediately & I started to feel better."

By his 2nd dose, he was being weaned off oxygen. After 2 more doses he was discharged.

“Remdesivir was a miracle.”

For months, I've publicly shared my support for these drugs, because of how they work. This is *only 1* patient and does NOT prove anything. We need to see the full results of the clinical study of #remdesivir, but this preliminary report is encouraging.🤞🏼
statnews.com/2020/04/16/ear…