The first drug shown to help treat coronavirus patients is likely to get official permission to be used “really quickly,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday — calling it a “very important first step.”
The White House coronavirus task force member confirmed on the “Today” show that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is looking to grant emergency usage of Gilead Sciences’ remdesivir after tests showed it could speed up recovery.
“It’s going to be really quickly,” Fauci said, saying that he spoke to FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn who is “moving along very quickly” in granting approval for the drug’s use on COVID-19 patients.
“I would project that we’re going to be seeing that reasonably soon,” he said.
Still, while hailing the promising results the Ebola drug had in tests, Fauci cautioned that it was not the miracle cure the world is waiting for.
“Although the results were clearly positive from a statistically significant standpoint, they were modest — the improvement was 31% better chance of recovering and getting out of the hospital,” he said.
“That’s important, but it’s the first step in what we project will be better and better drugs coming along.
“So it’s good news, but … this is not the total answer by any means,” he said.
“But it’s a very important first step,” he stressed, praising Gilead for being “ really committed to get it out as much as they can, as quickly as they can.”
