Study: Remdesivir Does Not Reduce COVID Mortality


Authors: By Ralph Ellis October 19, 2020 — A large study sponsored by the World Health Organization found that remdesivir doesn’t help hospitalized patients with COVID-19 survive and doesn’t even shorten the recovery time of those who do survive. These findings contradict smaller studies which found remdesivir, an antiviral drug, helped hospitalized coronavirus patients recover […]

NIH Clinical Trial Shows Remdesivir Accelerates Recovery from Advanced COVID-19


Authors: NIAID Office of Communications Hospitalized patients with advanced COVID-19 and lung involvement who received remdesivir recovered faster than similar patients who received placebo, according to a preliminary data analysis from a randomized, controlled trial involving 1063 patients, which began on February 21. The trial (known as the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial, or ACTT), sponsored by […]

The ‘very, very bad look’ of remdesivir, the first FDA-approved COVID-19 drug


Authors: By Jon Cohen, Kai KupferschmidtOct. 28, 2020 , 7:05 PM October was a good month for Gilead Sciences, the giant manufacturer of antivirals headquartered in Foster City, California. On 8 October, the company inked an agreement to supply the European Union with its drug remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19—a deal potentially worth more than $1 […]

Peer-reviewed data shows remdesivir for COVID-19 improves time to recovery


Authors:  Beigel, et al. Remdesivir for the Treatment of COVID-19 – A Preliminary Report. The New England Journal of Medicine. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2007764 (2020).   What The investigational antiviral remdesivir is superior to the standard of care for the treatment of COVID-19, according to a report published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The preliminary analysis is based […]

Remdesivir for the Treatment of Covid-19 — Final Report


Authors: John H. Beigel, M.D., Kay M. Tomashek, M.D., M.P.H., Lori E. Dodd, Ph.D., Aneesh K. Mehta, M.D., Barry S. Zingman, M.D., Andre C. Kalil, M.D., M.P.H., Elizabeth Hohmann, M.D., Helen Y. Chu, M.D., M.P.H., Annie Luetkemeyer, M.D., Susan Kline, M.D., M.P.H., Diego Lopez de Castilla, M.D., M.P.H., Robert W. Finberg, M.D., et al., for the ACTT-1 Study Group Members* Abstract BACKGROUND Although several therapeutic agents have been […]

Alert — EU looking into new side effects of Vaccine…


Authors: By citizenfreepress.com Three new conditions reported by people after vaccination with shots from Pfizer and Moderna are being studied to assess if they may be possible side effects, Europe’s drug regulator said on Wednesday. Erythema multiforme, a form of allergic skin reaction; glomerulonephritis or kidney inflammation; and nephrotic syndrome, a renal disorder characterised by […]

How Will the Coronavirus Evolve?


Authors: By Dhruv Khullar In 1988, Richard Lenski, a thirty-one-year-old biologist at UC Irvine, started an experiment. He divided a population of a common bacterium, E. coli, into twelve flasks. Each flask was kept at thirty-seven degrees Celsius, and contained an identical cocktail of water, glucose, and other nutrients. Each day, as the bacteria replicated, Lenski transferred several […]

Use of adenovirus type-5 vectored vaccines: a cautionary tale


Authors: The Lancet We are writing to express concern about the use of a recombinant adenovirus type-5 (Ad5) vector for a COVID-19 phase 1 vaccine study,1 and subsequent advanced trials. Over a decade ago, we completed the Step and Phambili phase 2b studies that evaluated an Ad5 vectored HIV-1 vaccine administered in three immunizations for efficacy […]

From adenoviruses to RNA: the pros and cons of different COVID vaccine technologies


Authors: Joel Abrams The World Health Organisation lists about 180 COVID-19 vaccines being developed around the world. Each vaccine aims to use a slightly different approach to prepare your immune system to recognise and fight SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. However, we can group these technologies into five main types. Some technology is tried and trusted. […]

Here’s Why Viral Vector Vaccines Don’t Alter DNA


— It’s pretty simple — they can’t Authors: by Veronica Hackethal, MD, MSc, Enterprise & Investigative Writer, MedPage Today March 12, 2021 Adenoviral vector vaccines have been in development for decades, but very few have been approved for use in humans. What does the history of adenoviral vector vaccine development tell us about their safety and their […]