Health Canada authorizes the remdésivir as a treatment for coronavirus

A vial of remdésivir

Share

28 July 2020 14h07

Share

Health Canada authorizes the remdésivir as a treatment for coronavirus

The canadian Press

MONTREAL – Health Canada has received market authorization conditional Veklury (the remdésivir) for the treatment of the COVID-19, announced on Tuesday that the pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences Canada.

This authorization would make the Veklury the first treatment option approved for the coronavirus in Canada.

Gilead explained in a press release that the drug is “indicated for the treatment of the COVID-19 in adults and adolescents 12 years and older who weigh at least 40 kg and with a pneumonia requiring use of oxygen therapy”.

The use of the Veklury has been studied in patients hospitalized and suffering from the COVID-19 at several stages of severity.

The market authorization of conditional Health Canada is based on the trial global phase III remdésivir conducted by the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the United States.

This trial showed that this drug did better than placebo at improving the time to recovery in adults hospitalized with COVID-19 and presenting with signs of lower respiratory tract infection.

Clinical trials are ongoing to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the remdésivir, in particular, to study the effects of the molecule in combination with anti-inflammatory medications and with special populations, including children.

Le Soleil