Preliminary study into remdesivir yields encouraging results

A recent study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry explored whether an experimental Ebola drug called remdesivir might help treat COVID-19. Although the research took place in the laboratory, the results are encouraging.

Earlier studies showed that remdesivir was effective against some coronaviruses, and there are reports that the drug may have helped some patients seeking treatment for COVID-19.

The drug blocks an enzyme called RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, which SARS-CoV-2 needs to replicate.

The authors of the study explain that although the results are promising, they cannot confirm that the drug would be safe in humans or effective in treating COVID-19. They will need to wait for the results of clinical trials.

Prof. Matthias Götte, who contributed to the study, explains, “We are desperate [to find an effective treatment for COVID-19], but we still have to keep the bar high for anything that we put into clinical trials.”