The Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday that it had formally approved remdesivir as the first drug to treat Covid-19, a move that indicated the government’s confidence in its safe and effective use for hospitalized patients. had granted remdesivir emergency authorization in May after a trial by the National Institutes of Health found that it modestly reduced the recovery time in hospitalized patients. President Trump received the antiviral drug after he began showing symptoms earlier this month. The drug does not prevent death from Covid-19. indicated that the drug had cleared more rigorous regulatory hurdles involving a more thorough review of clinical data and manufacturing quality since it was given emergency authorization in May.

Source: New York Times October 22, 2020 22:30 UTC