Remdesivir is a broad-spectrum antiviral medication created by the biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences.[1] It was designed to treat Ebola.
As of 2020, remdesivir is being tested as a specific treatment for COVID-19. It is being used for the sickest of patients during the pandemic.[2] It may shorten the time it takes to recover from the infection.[3] Treatment is given by injection into a vein.[4][5]
On May 1, the United States Food and Drug Administration gave doctors permission to use remdesivir on patients with COVID-19. Ordinarily, the FDA would test remdesivir first to see if it worked on patients with COVID-19, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they told doctors they could start using the drug before the tests were finished.
In October 2020, the National Institutes of Health told the world the results of its tests: They studied 11,000 people and found that remdesivir did not help keep COVID-19 patients alive. Gilead and some scientists said the results of the tests might not be correct.[6]