Inhaled version of coronavirus drug will start human trials soon, Gilead says

Gilead Sciences announced that the biotech company will begin human trials in August of an inhaled version of coronavirus drug remdesivir.

Remdesivir is currently given intravenously and an inhaled version could be administered more easily, outside the hospital, and earlier on in the disease, Daniel O’Day, Chairman and CEO of Gilead said in a statement. An inhaled version could have “significant implications in helping to stem the tide of the pandemic,” O’Day said.

“For patients who are at high risk of disease progression, it could be particularly beneficial to start treatment outside the hospital. Our hope is that earlier intervention could help patients avoid hospitalization altogether,” O’Day said.

Remdesivir is currently given intravenously and can’t be taken through a pill because it would affect the liver, the company told CNBC.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases released a study in April showing COVID-19 patients recovered after 11 days while taking remdesivir, which was four days faster than the people who didn’t take the drug. The mortality rate for the group that took remdesivir was 8%, compared to 11.6% in the group that didn’t take the drug.

The Food and Drug Administration granted authorization for emergency use for the drug on May 1 “for the treatment of suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in adults and children hospitalized with severe disease.” It allows for the drug to be used on patients hospitalized with the coronavirus without going through the traditional FDA review process.

Remdesivir is labeled an “investigational” drug “because it is still being studied, the FDA said.

A study by Gilead released in June showed that COVID-19 patients with “moderate” disease were 65% more likely to have improvement on the 11th day compared to the patients who were given standard care, according to a press release.

An inhaled version of the drug would be administered through a nebulizer, a device that changes medicine from a liquid to a mist, and patients would inhale the mist through a mouthpiece or a mask, The Wall Street Journal reported.

There have been more than 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. as of June 22, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 119,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the U.S.

This story was originally published June 22, 2020 at 9:54 AM with the headline "Inhaled version of coronavirus drug will start human trials soon, Gilead says."