World Coronavirus Dispatch: Remdesivir not an effective cure, say WHO study

New US jobless claims rise to 900,000, stricter lockdown in London, Japanese theme park morphs into office, and other pandemic-related news across the globe

Remdesivir has little effect on Covid-19, WHO study says: The Covid-19 treatment remdesivir has no substantial effect on a patient’s chances of survival, a clinical trial by the World Health Organization has found, delivering a significant blow to hopes of identifying existing medicines to treat the disease. 

Results from the WHO’s highly anticipated Solidarity trial, which studied the effects of remdesivir and three other potential drug regimens in 11,266 hospitalised patients, found that none of the treatments “substantially affected mortality” or reduced the need to ventilate patients, according to a copy of the study seen by the Financial Times.