COVID-19: Cedars-Sinai Physician Co-Authors Analysis of Drug Skip to main content Close Select your preferred language English عربى 简体中文 繁體中文 فارسي עִברִית 日本語 한국어 Русский Español Tagalog Menu Close Call 1-800-CEDARS-1 toggle search form Close Los Angeles, 11 April 2020 10:00 AM America/Los_Angeles COVID-19 Cedars-Sinai Physician Co-Authors Analysis of Antiviral Drug Jonathan Grein, MD, director of Hospital Epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai, co-authored an analysis of experimental drug remdesivir, which was given to severely ill COVID-19 patients through a compassionate use program. Photo by Getty Images. Jonathan Grein, MD, director of Hospital Epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai, co-authored an analysis of experimental drug remdesivir, which was given to severely ill COVID-19 patients through a compassionate use program. Photo by Getty Images. In a small group of patients hospitalized with severe complications of COVID-19 and treated with the experimental antiviral drug remdesivir, clinical improvement was observed in 68% of patients treated, according to an analysis co-authored by Jonathan Grein, MD, director of Hospital Epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai. The experimental therapy was given to patients through a "compassionate use" program that allows providers access to treatments not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration when a patient has a life-threatening condition and no other options are available. The analysis, published online today by The New England Journal of Medicine, evaluated data from 53 patients in the U.S, Europe, Canada and Japan who received at least one dose of remdesivir by March 7. The effort was led by Gilead Sciences, the pharmaceutical company that makes the experimental drug. The study shows:68% of patients treated with remdesivir demonstrated an improvement in the level of oxygen support they needed over a median follow-up of 18 days from the first dose of the drug.Of the 34 patients who had been intubated and required support from mechanical ventilators (breathing machines), 57% had their breathing tubes taken out.47% of all patients were discharged from the hospital following treatment with remdesivir. " It's critical that the medical community finds a safe and effective treatment for COVID-19 that's supported by solid data. I'm very proud that Cedars-Sinai is contributing to the global effort to find that solution. Jonathan D. Grein, MD, director of Hospital Epidemiology„ "Currently there is no proven treatment for COVID-19. We cannot draw definitive conclusions from these data, but the observations from this group of hospitalized patients who received remdesivir are hopeful," said Grein, who also leads the Special Pathogens Response Team at Cedars-Sinai. "We look forward to the results of controlled clinical trials to potentially validate these findings." Cedars-Sinai is continuing to explore remdesivir as a therapeutic option for patients as part of a large international randomized controlled study sponsored by the NIH. Compassionate use programs are less stringent than a randomized controlled study, which compares patients who are receiving the experimental treatment to patients receiving the standard treatment. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, compassionate use data can help scientists understand potential risks and can offer a glimpse into whether an experimental treatment might or might not be viable. "It's critical that the medical community finds a safe and effective treatment for COVID-19 that's supported by solid data," Grein said. "I'm very proud that Cedars-Sinai is contributing to the global effort to find that solution." Funding: Research reported in this publication was supported by Gilead Sciences. Related Stories RSS feed - Related Stories (opens in new window) View all headlines - Related Stories Cedars-Sinai Schedules Free Flu Vaccine Clinics October 05, 2022 06:13 AM America/Los_Angeles Cedars-Sinai is opening free flu vaccine pop-up clinics to help the community combat the upcoming flu season, which is shaping up to be a rough one.“We want to make it as easy as possible for people to get their vaccines by eliminating barriers such … Read more Arm Yourself Against the 2022-23 Flu Season September 28, 2022 06:00 AM America/Los_Angeles Amid the loosening of COVID-19 precautions and a sharp increase in flu cases in the Southern Hemisphere, Cedars-Sinai experts are warning the public to prepare for a bad flu season this year.“Australia and New Zealand had their most severe flu … Read more New Data Show COVID-19 Vaccine Does Not Raise Stroke Risk August 24, 2022 13:01 PM America/Los_Angeles Newly compiled data evaluated by researchers in the Department of Neurology and the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai shows that COVID-19 vaccines do not raise stroke risk—but that severe COVID-19 infection does. Physician-scientists hope this … Read more Show previous items Show next items Contact the Media Team Email: [email protected] Contact Marni Usheroff marni.usheroff@cshs.org Share this release COVID-19 Cedars-Sinai Physician Co-Authors Analysis of Antiviral Drug Share on: Twitter Share on: Facebook Share on: LinkedIn Search Our Newsroom Social media Visit our Facebook page (opens in new window) Follow us on Twitter (opens in new window) Visit our Youtube profile (opens in new window) (opens in new window) Latest news 07 Oct 2022 - HealthDay: Black Women Less Likely to Get Laparoscopic Fibroid Surgeries 07 Oct 2022 - Faculty Publications: Sept. 29-Oct. 6 07 Oct 2022 - Fine-Tuning Organ-Chip Technology 06 Oct 2022 - KCRW: Want New Omicron Booster? Wait at Least 2 Months After Last Shot 05 Oct 2022 - Cedars-Sinai Schedules Free Flu Vaccine Clinics 04 Oct 2022 - Cedars-Sinai Showcases Hispanic and Latinx Art Newsroom Home