Remdesivir’s Failure Is a Warning for Covid-19 Vaccines
The FDA will need to evaluate shots more carefully than it did a pricey Covid-19 treatment.
Hasty drug approval doesn’t always work out.
Photographer: OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty ImagesLess than a month ago, the Food and Drug Administration said hospitals could use remdesivir, a drug manufactured by Gilead Sciences Inc., to treat patients with Covid-19. Remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury, was said to shorten recovery times and reduce the need for ventilators to facilitate breathing. Yesterday, the World Health Organization hit the brakes: It recommended that doctors avoid using the drug altogether.
“There is currently no evidence that remdesivir improves survival and other outcomes in these patients,” the WHO noted, citing detailed studies it sponsored. “The evidence suggested no important effect on mortality, need for mechanical ventilation, time to clinical improvement, and other patient-important outcomes.”