Taipei (NVI): As coronavirus continues spread across the globe, Taiwan has said it has started clinical trials of the antiviral drug remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19.
Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) expert Chang Shang-chun has said remdesivir is a highly anticipated drug that many believe could be a potential treatment for COVID-19 patients, according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA).
Chang did not elaborate which COVID-19 patients would be included in the trials, except to say that they have already begun in Taiwan.
In addition to remdesivir, he revealed that anti-HIV drugs, combined with interferons, are among the drugs that are been tested on coronavirus patients in the country. Chang said local medical experts are also continuing to assess other options for the treatment of COVID-19, the CNA reported.
Originally developed by the American drugmaker Gilead Sciences for use against the Ebola virus, remdesivir has been widely discussed as a possible coronavirus treatment, following positive results from Chinese and American doctors who have administered the drug experimentally, it said.
Gilead, in a statement on January 31, had said it was working with the Chinese authorities to conduct a clinical trial involving the use of remdesivir on coronavirus patients.
In late February, the CECC announced Taiwanese research teams had successfully synthesized the investigational antiviral drug, and were preparing to carry out clinical trials on COVID-19 patients in Taiwan.
Health Minister Chen Shih-chung, who also heads the CECC, said at the time that Taiwan will set up strict standards for the selection of potential participants in the trials. However, the details were not disclosed.