| Design | Double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Treatment | Intravenous remdesivir |
| Control | Placebo |
| Population | 1062 adults hospitalised with COVID-19 and evidence of lower respiratory tract infection |
| Follow-up | 29 days |
| Primary endpoint | Time to recovery |
| Result | Median time to recovery 10 days (95% CI 9 to 11) with remdesivir versus 15 days (13 to 18) with placebo — rate ratio for recovery 1.29 (95% CI 1.12 to 1.49, p<0.001). The mortality difference did not reach statistical significance. |
| Secondary endpoints | Mortality at day 15 and 29, clinical status on an ordinal scale, adverse events |
Our data show that remdesivir was superior to placebo in shortening the time to recovery in adults who were hospitalized with Covid-19 and had evidence of lower respiratory tract infection.
The trial authors, in the published abstract
A positive trial on a soft endpoint that has never been matched by a convincing mortality signal, and the WHO SOLIDARITY trial subsequently found no benefit. Compare RECOVERY dexamethasone, where a cheap steroid moved mortality in the same disease.
Beigel JH, Tomashek KM, Dodd LE, et al. Remdesivir for the Treatment of Covid-19 - Final Report. N Engl J Med 2020 Nov 5;383(19):1813-1826.