European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommends expanding remdesivir compassionate use to patients not on mechanical ventilation

Updated recommendations are based on results from NIAID-ACTT study which suggest beneficial effect of remdesivir in treatment of hospitalised patients with severe COVID-19. EMA is currently evaluating these data in the context of the rolling review of remdesivir.

SPS commentary:

In addition, treatment duration of 5 days has been introduced alongside the longer 10-day course, based on preliminary results from another study (GS-US-540-5773) suggesting that for patients not requiring mechanical ventilation or ECMO, the treatment course may be shortened from 10 to 5 days without any loss of efficacy. Patients who receive a 5-day treatment course but do not show clinical improvement will be eligible to continue receiving remdesivir for an additional 5 days. The option to shorten treatment duration also means that more patients may be able to receive the medicine, which is in very high demand worldwide.

Source:

European Medicines Agency