Chicago Researchers Decline to Confirm Positive Results in Ongoing Remdesivir Trial

Reports of positive early results from a COVID-19 trial of Gilead’s antiviral drug remdesivir in Chicago are premature, according to the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences.

“Any kind of comment would be premature because the trial is ongoing,” spokesperson Lorna Wong told FDAnews. “When the study is completed and there are results to report, that’s when we will issue a news release.”

The University of Chicago is just one of 152 trial sites across the U.S. and abroad, including Italy, France, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan and the UK. The randomized phase 3 study, which began on March 6 and is scheduled to end in May, is currently recruiting patients with severe COVID-19 for enrollment and will have an estimated 2,400 participants.

Remdesivir showed clinical improvement in two-thirds of COVID-19 patients in a study at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Hospital (DID, April 14).