Explainer | Coronavirus: what is remdesivir and how effective is it against Covid-19?

Remdesivir is an experimental antiviral made by pharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences that was first developed to treat Ebola

A trial found that virus patients on the drug had a 31 per cent faster time to recovery, but US expert Fauci says remdesivir is not a miracle cure

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Lab technicians load filled vials of remdesivir at a Gilead Sciences facility in La Verne, California. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:18pm, 1 May 2020Updated: 3:18pm, 1 May 2020

Remdesivir has been shown to speed up recovery times for patients with Covid-19 in a major US-led trial, becoming the first drug with proven benefit against the disease.

Here is what you need to know.

What is remdesivir?

Remdesivir is an experimental, broad spectrum antiviral made by US pharmaceutical Gilead Sciences that was first developed to treat Ebola, a viral haemorrhagic fever.

It showed early promise in a primate study in 2016 and was later rolled out for a major trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it was compared against three other medicines.

That study concluded in 2019 when it was discontinued because it did not boost survival rates as greatly as two monoclonal antibody drugs, which are lab-engineered immune system proteins.

In February, the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) announced it was dusting off remdesivir to investigate against SARS-CoV-2, the pathogen that causes Covid-19, because it had shown promise in animal testing against fellow coronaviruses Sars and Mers.