[Q&A] "Remdesivir's COVID-19 Treatment Effect Still Difficult to Judge"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] As of the 24th, among the more than 20 COVID-19 treatment candidates currently under research, the quarantine authorities expect that the 'drug repositioning' approach, which expands the indications of already approved drugs to COVID-19, will yield results first.

Jung Eun-kyung, head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, stated this during a regular briefing held at the Osong Disease Control Headquarters in Chungbuk on the same day, adding, "Clinical trials are expected to conclude as early as within this year."

Director Jung said, "Once clinical trials are completed, we expect treatment guidelines regarding effective therapeutics and dosages to be issued," but also showed a cautious attitude by saying, "We need to observe the results carefully."

The day before, the quarantine authorities announced plans to conduct clinical trials of plasma therapy on COVID-19 patients starting in July. Director Jung said, "The public offering for the related research project is currently underway," and added, "Once researchers or manufacturers are selected, we will secure convalescent plasma and develop it into a treatment to be introduced as soon as possible."

Regarding the commercialization timeline, she said, "We plan to proceed with development and clinical trials as quickly as possible," but also noted, "We need to monitor the timeline more cautiously."

◇Below is a Q&A with Director Jung regarding domestic COVID-19 treatments and vaccines

- Amid projections of a resurgence and prolonged persistence of COVID-19, there are forecasts that it will take several years or more for vaccines and treatments to be commercialized. Some argue that maintaining social distancing until vaccine and treatment development is a form of psychological torture. What is your view on this?

▲ The best approach to COVID-19 is to develop a vaccine quickly to increase herd immunity and prevent infection. However, there is considerable uncertainty about whether vaccine development will succeed, when it will be possible, and whether the entire world can secure vaccines and proceed with vaccinations. Nonetheless, at present, it is the best method to overcome COVID-19.

Until vaccines and treatments are developed, what can be done is to minimize human contact to prevent cluster outbreaks or the spread of transmission. It is difficult to call this psychological torture.

- The World Health Organization (WHO) website posted and then removed a clinical trial report on Remdesivir. According to the report, Remdesivir's efficacy is at a level that cannot be used as a COVID-19 treatment. How much does the quarantine authority trust this report?

▲ Since clinical trials are being conducted on a very large number of patients worldwide, it is difficult to draw conclusions about efficacy based on one or two studies. Efficacy can only be discussed after clinical trial results are derived from large-scale randomized controlled trials or standardized research methodologies. At present, it is difficult to answer.

In China, it is reported that related research was halted because it became difficult to secure additional patients for clinical trials due to a rapid decrease in patient numbers. How to interpret those results will require more comprehensive review and aggregation of various research outcomes conducted in multiple countries.

- What has been the observed efficacy of Remdesivir based on patient management by the quarantine authorities?

▲ Currently, two Remdesivir-related clinical trials are underway domestically. Since patient recruitment and administration are still ongoing, no results have been reported or confirmed yet. As the research is ongoing, it is difficult to comment on domestic results.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.