infohunt

The other name of Remdesivir is GS-5734. This drug is believed to be the best drug which works well against Covid-19 (till date). It is an antiviral medicine which is also called as nucleotide analog.

It was 9th October 2015 when it was announced that Remdesivir has blocked the killer virus Ebola in Rhesus Monkeys by the United States Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease (USAMRIID). The medicine was known to be made by Gilead Sciences, an American based bio-pharmaceutical company that commercials and researches drugs.

Later Travis Warren, the principal investigator of USAMRIID said that it is due to the collaboration of USAMRIID and Gilead Sciences that the work was made possible.

A recent study shows that Remdesivir has shown serious action against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) which is also known as Camel flu in animal models.

Remdesivir was mainly made to fight against the Ebola virus, but some researches say that the study of the drug was stopped as it increased mortality in patients who took the drug. Although it is hoped that Remdesivir is a cure to COVID-19, it must also be known that Remdesivir was not as promising against Ebola, SARS and MERS.

According to some data collected in March 2020 some Rhesus Monkeys were intentionally infected with COVID-19 in order to test the drug and surprisingly researchers found a positive result. The drug could stop the growth of the infection. Some human trials have been done and the result was good. The drug could reduce the infection in humans too. As of April 2020, Johns Hopkins University viewed Remdesivir as the most promising treatment for COVID-19.

Researchers noted some side effects of Remdesivir during the Ebola trial which included increased liver enzymes which means it may damage the liver in a long run and this side effect have also been found in three US COVID-19 patients who were given Remdesivir.

Other side effects of an antiviral drug is Nausea and Vomiting

It is not yet declared if pregnant women can consume the drug.