By AFPMore by this AuthorWashington,Gilead Science's remdesivir, one of the most highly anticipated drugs being tested against the new coronavirus, showed positive results in a large-scale US government trial, the company said Wednesday. However, this trial, begun in late February and overseen by the US government, is the largest and technically most robust. According to a data sheet, its estimated enrollment was 800 patients, a portion of whom received the drug while the rest received a placebo. Neither the patients nor their physicians were aware of which group they belonged to, in order to eliminate unconscious bias. The antimalarial drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are also being widely used against Covid-19 on a so-called "compassionate basis" pending results from large trials, with early studies decidedly mixed.

Source: Daily Nation April 29, 2020 15:22 UTC