As the world continues to grapple with the outbreak of the
coronavirus, WHO has positive news about a Gilead Sciences medication that may
assist in treating the symptoms of the virus.
According to CNN Business, shares of the Gilead Sciences drug
company rose by 3% on February 24 after an official from the World Health
Organization (WHO) stated that Gilead’s medication remdesivir is showing signs that
it might help treat the coronavirus, which has cause a global health scare.
Bruce Aylward from WHO at a press conference in Beijing said,
“There is only one drug right now that we think may have real efficacy and that’s
remdesivir.” He is an assistant director general of the WHO.
WHO officials stated that clinical trials for remdesivir in
humans are underway and the results could be available within weeks.
CNN continues to report that earlier this month, Gilead
Sciences said it has been working with Chinese health authorities to establish
if remdesivir, an experimental drug that has been used to treat the Ebola virus,
can combat coronavirus symptoms.
Besides Gilead’s efforts, Johnson &Johnson and
GlaxoSmithKline are also working on vaccines. AbbVie biotech company also
reports that it has seen promising results for coronavirus treatment using a
mixture of two of its HIV medications and Tamiflu made by the Swiss Roche pharma giant and Japan’s Chugai Pharmaceutical.
The Coronavirus outbreak that started in Wuhan China has
claimed over a thousand lives in China including doctors who were attending to
victims of the deadly virus.
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