Baylor Scott & White Health enrolls first patients in the world in trial for inhaled remdesivir
DALLAS – Earlier this month, Baylor Scott & White Research Institute enrolled the first four patients in the world on Gilead’s new clinical trial involving an investigational inhaled solution of remdesivir, according to a news release from Baylor Scott & White.
This is Gilead’s first trial in COVID-19 patients examining the safety and efficacy of an inhaled solution of the drug in an outpatient setting. The study of an inhaled solution asks whether this mode of delivery can help reduce the amount of virus from the airways earlier.
This study comes on the heels of a series of randomized phase 3 clinical trials that produced data on the safety and efficacy for remdesivir when administered via intravenous infusion to patients hospitalized with moderate to severe cases of COVID-19. Researchers hope to understand if an inhaled solution — remdesivir is currently only available in an intravenous form — could also prove effective in treating individuals earlier in the lifecycle of their infection before they become more ill.
“Even after a validated vaccine is available to the public, we will need to continue measures to control the spread of the virus, such as masks and distancing, and treat people who are infected. Some of our friends and neighbors are still coming down with the virus, and we need therapies to help fight the virus earlier, before it potentially causes pneumonia. Antivirals for influenza work best when given as early as possible, so our aim is to do the same for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19,” said Dr. Robert Gottlieb, a physician scientist at Baylor Scott & White. “The body does not absorb a pill form of remdesivir, so we need another way to deliver an antiviral for COVID-19 to patients at home in the community. Since the lungs, mouth, and nose are a major target of the virus, our hope is that an inhaled solution of remdesivir might prevent progression to COVID-19 pneumonia.”
Read more: https://www.tdtnews.com/news/coronavirus/article_54665a2c-04af-11eb-bf05-0fe4a27a85fc.html
(Temple Daily Telegram)