Benzinga | Jul 13, 2021 06:06AM EDT

Gilead's Remdesivir Fails To Show Antiviral Effects Against COVID-19 In Small WHO Study

* According to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, neither Gilead Sciences Inc's (NASDAQ:GILD) Veklury (remdesivir) nor hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) did significantly clear the virus from hospitalized COVID-19 patients or affect the degree of respiratory failure and inflammation over the standard of care after ten days.

* Between 28 March and 4 October 2020, 185 patients were randomly assigned, and 181 were included in the full analysis set. Patients received remdesivir (n=42), HCQ (n=52), or standard of care (SoC) (n=87).

* The most important secondary outcome specific to the NOR-Solidarity trial was the viral load in a patient's throat. Among all groups, the amount declined a week after someone received initial treatment and fell similarly after ten days.

* But investigators observed no marked difference in that decline between the treatment groups. If anything, the decrease rate was nominally in favor of a standard of care, the team wrote.

* The presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies or high or low viral load at hospital admission "did not influence the potential antiviral effects of these drugs," the researchers wrote.

* Veklury did show an improvement in respiratory function after a week over the standard of care, but there was no difference at day 10, the study found.

* The randomized trial, dubbed NOR-Solidarity, was an independent add-on to the World Health Organization's (WHO) previously reported 11,200-person Solidarity trial.

* That Solidarity study, released in October, found that Veklury "appeared to have little or no effect on hospitalized COVID-19" when measured by the need for ventilation, the length of hospital stay, and overall mortality.

* Price Action: GILD shares closed at $68.07 on Monday.