Veklury significantly reduced risk of hospitalization in high-risk patients with COVID-19 – Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced positive results from a Phase III randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a three-day course of Veklury(remdesivir) for intravenous (IV) use for the treatment of COVID-19 in non-hospitalized patients at high risk for disease progression . This late-breaking data will be presented at the IDWeek 2021 virtual conference.

In an analysis of 562 participants randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive Veklury or placebo, Veklury demonstrated a statistically significant 87% reduction in risk for the composite primary endpoint of COVID-19 related hospitalization or all-cause death by Day 28 (0.7% [2/279]) compared with placebo (5.3% [15/283]) p=0.008. Results also showed an 81% reduction in risk for the composite secondary endpoint of medical visits due to COVID-19 or all-cause death by Day 28 for participants treated with Veklury (1.6% [4/246]) compared with placebo (8.3% [21/252]) p=0.002. In the study, no deaths were observed in either arm by Day 28.

Enrollment for this trial was stopped prior to fulfilling enrollment targets in April 2021, reflecting the changing epidemiology and adoption of additional treatment options at the time; however, the study continued to collect data on enrolled participants and both investigators and participants remained blinded to their assignment of Veklury or placebo. These results complement positive results from ACTT-1 and other studies in hospitalized patients in which Veklury helped patients recover significantly faster and reduced the likelihood of disease progression.