Gilead halted after medication Remdesivir flopped in coronavirus trial
CNBC’s “Halftime Report” team discusses a report that says Gilead medicine flopped in a trial. The Financial Times said—citing documents accidentally published by the World Organization—that Remdesivir did not improve patients’ condition or reduce the coronavirus pathogen in their bloodstream. Equities had initially rallied as crude prices continued their rebound from historic lows.
Gilead Sciences said that a draft document showing disappointing results from a closely watched clinical trial of the company’s treatment for the coronavirus contained “inappropriate characterizations” and that the study’s findings were “inconclusive.”
Shares of the biotech firm fell 4% in intraday trading Thursday after the Financial Times reported that antiviral drug remdesivir did not improve Covid-19 patients’ conditions or reduce the virus’ presence in the bloodstream in a clinical trial in China. The report, citing a draft document that was accidentally published by the World Health Organization and has since been removed, also said the drug showed significant side effects, and some patients were taken off of it.
“We regret that the WHO prematurely posted information regarding the study, which has since been removed. The investigators in this study did not provide permission for publication of results,” a Gilead spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC.
“Furthermore, we believe the post included inappropriate characterizations of the study. Importantly, because this study was terminated early due to low enrollment, it was underpowered to enable statistically meaningful conclusions,” according to Gilead. “As such, the study results are inconclusive, though trends in the data suggest a potential benefit for remdesivir, particularly among patients treated early in disease.”
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