Gilead Sciences has reported positive real-world evidence for its COVID-19 treatment, Veklury (remdesivir), demonstrating a reduction in mortality and hospital readmission rates among all patients hospitalised with the virus.
Two studies that analysed clinical practice information from more than 500,000 adult patients showed that the initiation of Veklury within the first two days of hospital admission was associated with a statistically significant lower risk for mortality in all oxygen levels across all variant time periods.
For patients with no documented use of supplemental oxygen, treatment with Veklury was associated with a 19% lower risk of mortality at day 28.
Patients on low-flow or high-flow oxygen also had a 21% and 12% lower risk of mortality at day 28, respectively, and those on invasive mechanical ventilation had a 26% reduced risk.
A reduction in mortality was also seen in vulnerable patient populations, such as those with immunocompromised conditions, who can experience repeat and breakthrough infections.
In a separate analysis, it was also found that hospitalised COVID-19 patients treated with Veklury were 27% less likely to be readmitted within 30 days to the same hospital, a trend observed even in patients who had higher supplemental oxygen requirements during initial hospitalisation.
Commenting on the positive results, Chidinma Chima-Melton, study author and pulmonologist at UCLA Health, said: “Large studies utilising real world clinical practice data are of great importance given the significant shifts that have occurred in the COVID-19 treatment landscape.
“These longitudinal analyses demonstrate the value of [Veklury] in reducing mortality in all patients with COVID-19, and its positive impact on reducing readmission rates, which is an important consideration for hospitals.”
Veklury is already approved in more than 50 countries worldwide to treat hospitalised patients with COVID-19 and in September the World Health Organization (WHO) updated its guidelines to also recommend the drug for patients with severe COVID-19.
In WHO’s guideline, patients with severe COVID-19 are defined as those with oxygen saturation less than 90% on room air, signs of pneumonia or signs of severe respiratory distress.
The recommendation was supported by the final results of the WHO-sponsored SOLIDARITY study, which showed a statistically significant 17% lower relative risk of death or progression to needing ventilation in patients requiring supplemental oxygen at baseline, compared to standard of care.