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Review
. 2021 Jun;49(3):401-410.
doi: 10.1007/s15010-020-01557-7. Epub 2021 Jan 2.

Remdesivir in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment: a review of evidence

Hui Xian Jaime Lin  1 , Sanda Cho  2 , Veeraraghavan Meyyur Aravamudan  3 , Hnin Yu Sanda  4 , Raj Palraj  5 , James S Molton  6 , Indumathi Venkatachalam  7
Affiliations
Review

Remdesivir in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment: a review of evidence

Hui Xian Jaime Lin et al. Infection. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a novel β-coronavirus, belonging to the same subgenus as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus. Remdesivir, an investigational broad-spectrum antiviral agent has previously demonstrated in vitro activity against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and in vivo efficacy against other related coronaviruses in animal models. Its safety profile has been tested in a compassionate use setting for patients with COVID-19. The current therapeutic studies demonstrate clinical effectiveness of remdesivir in COVID-19 patients by shortening time to clinical recovery, and hospital stay. In this review, we critically analyze the current evidence of remdesivir against COVID-19 and dissect the aspects over its safety and efficacy. Based on existing data, remdesivir can be regarded as a potential therapeutic agent against COVID-19. Further large-scale, randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials are, however, awaited to validate these findings.

Keywords: COVID-19; Hui Xian Jaime Lin and Sanda Cho shared the first authorship; Remdesivir; SAR-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare no conflict of interest nor affiliations with or financial involvement with any commercial organisations.

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