According to experts the drug may benefit those who are acutely ill, perhaps in conjunction with other medications.

US government sparked a glimmer of hope by reporting Wednesday that a drug previously developed by the Gilead Sciences to combat against Ebola was hastening the recovery of the most serious COVID-19 cases.

In a statement, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, which is conducting the study, reported that 31% of the patients who received remdesivir recovered faster than similar patients who received a placebo.

Although remdesivir is not a cure for Covid-19, according to experts it may theoretically benefit those who are acutely ill, perhaps in conjunction with other medications.

Patients treated with the drug were discharged from the hospital or return to normal activities within 11 days instead of 15 days, and mortality rate dropped from 11 per cent in the placebo group to 8 per cent.

The trial (known as the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial, or (ACTT) included severely ill patients in 75 hospitals around the world. will be fully defined once more detailed information about the trial results, including more comprehensive data, will become available.

“The data shows that remdesivir has a clear, meaningful and positive effect in reducing recovery time,” said Anthony Fauci, director of the Institute of Infectious Diseases who oversaw the trial. “… the first results were so clear that the decision was made to make them public so that patients treated with placebo can now have access to remdesivir.”

Quebecer rises from six day comma after receiving, among other things, remdesivir

Frédéric Gaudette, 46, a Quebecer survived COVID-19 after falling into a coma for six days in an intensive care unit in France. According to Le Journal, Gaudette was “dying” when arriving at the hospital and was given, among other things, remdesivir to assist in his recovery.