Remdesivir for the Treatment of COVID-19, its Safety and Clinical Effectiveness: A Clinical Review

Abstract

Remdesivir is a nucleotide analog pro-drug and antiviral medicine with broad spectrum effectiveness against viruses from several families. After exhibiting strong antiviral activity against coronaviruses in preclinical studies, remdesivir was approved as a specific drug for the treatment of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was caused by the infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during the current global pandemic. The Remdesivir COVID-19 phase III evaluation began in early 2020, and preliminary findings are promising. For people with severe COVID-19, Taiwan temporarily approved the use of Remdesivir in late May 2020. The approval was quickly followed by a number of conditional permits in many countries/regions, including the United States of America (USA) and Canada. Remdesivir had already been granted emergency use authorization in the USA on May 1, 2020 and special authorization for emergency use in Japan on May 7, 2020. This article provides a summary of remdesivir's development and the significant events that led to its initial conditional approval for the treatment of COVID-19.