Does Gilead Have a Cure for the Coronavirus?

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) is among many biotech and pharmaceutical companies working on treatments for COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. Where Gilead stands apart is it actually has a treatment that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized for emergency use.

Gilead initially developed remdesivir as part of its hepatitis C and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) research in 2009. With the Ebola outbreak a few years later, the company explored the antiviral's potential, but other treatments produced better survival rates. Preclinical data in other coronaviruses, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), were promising, but clinical trials couldn't be conducted because it couldn't enroll enough patients as cases declined. Maintaining a strong belief in remdesivir's potential, Gilead renewed preclinical studies of the drug once COVID-19 emerged.

As a nucleoside analog, remdesivir "pretends" to be a nucleoside that occurs naturally in the virus. But instead of helping the virus replicate, this imposter interrupts the process. The drug is administered intravenously over a period of five to 10 days.

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Source Fool.com