WHO Recommends Gilead's COVID-19 Therapy For Severe Disease

Gilead Sciences Inc GILD announced updates to the World Health Organization's (WHO) Therapeutics and COVID-19: living guideline, which now conditionally recommends Veklury (remdesivir) for severe COVID-19.
WHO continues to conditionally recommend Veklury in those with non-severe COVID-19 at the highest risk of hospitalization.
The WHO conditional recommendation is mainly driven by the final results of the WHO-sponsored SOLIDARITY study, which showed a statistically significant 17% lower relative risk of death or progression to needing ventilation in patients requiring supplemental oxygen compared to standard of care.
Related: Gilead's Remdesivir Becomes First Approved Treatment For Pediatric COVID-19 Patients
Additionally, SOLIDARITY showed a statistically significant 13% lower relative mortality risk with Veklury treatment for those patients hospitalized on supplemental oxygen and not requiring mechanical ventilation, compared with standard of care.
In the study, Veklury had no significant effect on patients with COVID-19 who were already ventilated.
These findings complement results from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' trial in which a mortality reduction was seen in Veklury-treated patients on low flow oxygen compared to placebo.
Veklury did not demonstrate a mortality benefit in the overall population or other baseline oxygen subgroups in either ACTT-1 or SOLIDARITY.
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