Gilead says prematurely-released remdesivir Chinese study data misleading

While much hope was attached to the possible use of Gilead Sciences’ (Nasdaq: GILD) investigational antiviral remdesivir in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, last week early data from a study of the drug in China, published in error by the World Health Organization (WHO), seemed to kill off this idea, even though the company itself has yet to release results from its own research.

Responding to the situation, Gilead’s chief medical officer Dr Merdad Parsey noted that this information has since been removed, as the study investigators did not provide permission for the publication of the results.

Dr Parsey stated: “Furthermore, we believe the post included inappropriate characterizations of the study. The study was terminated early due to low enrollment and, as a result, it was underpowered to enable statistically-meaningful conclusions. 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. We understand the available data have been submitted for peer-reviewed publication, which will provide more detailed information from this study in the near future.”