Image of a senior man recuperating in a hospital bed

The antiviral drug remdesivir has been shown to improve recovery time in moderate COVID-19 illness, drugmaker Gilead Sciences announced Monday.

An ongoing study has found that moderately ill patients in a five-day treatment group were 65% more likely to have clinical improvement on day 11 than a standard-care treatment cohort. There was no significant improvement in those given the drug for ten days, the company added.

The new trial data has not yet been submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal or for federal drug approval. However, the Food and Drug Administration in early May issued an emergency use authorization for remdesivir in patients with “severe” cases of COVID-19. Remdesivir remains the subject of ongoing clinical trials.

In its Monday statement, the drugmaker focused on early diagnosis. 

“These study results offer additional encouraging data for remdesivir, showing that if we can intervene earlier in the disease process with a 5-day treatment course, we can significantly improve clinical outcomes for these patients,” it said. 

Thus far, there have been three randomized, controlled clinical trials demonstrating that remdesivir improved clinical outcomes by several different measures. These include a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health, Gilead reported.