A drug that was presented and then rejected as a cure for the ebola virus is now being seen as the best option to treat COVID-19.
Remdesivir, manufactured by US company Gilead Sciences, is currently the subject of at least four trials on coronavirus patients, including two in China. An outbreak of the Ebola virus in three African countries between 2014 and 2016 killed thousands of people. Gilead Sciences’ claim about remdesivir’s potential efficacy against coronavirus has been endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
World Health organization endorses it
At a press briefing in Beijing, WHO assistant director-general Bruce Aylward said:
“There is only one drug right now that we think may have real efficacy, and that’s remdesivir.”