Local trials underway for only drug known to help COVID-19 patients

Cape Fear Valley Medical Center is among several local hospitals taking part in a clinical trial testing the anti-viral drug remdesivir.

This week, the hospital expects to get its first doses of the drug approved by the FDA.

California-based biopharmaceutical company Gilead donated 607,000 vials of remdesivir for use in the U.S. over the next few months. Cape Fear Valley was allowed to participate based on the health system’s percentage of the overall number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in North Carolina.

The drug is being sent to the states that need it most and the most critical patients, and Gilead said it is donating its entire current stockpile to help in the U.S. pandemic response.

Remdesivir was cleared for emergency use by the FDA last week. According to CNN, remdesivir is the only drug known to help patients with COVID-19.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Saturday that it is delivering 140 cases of the drug remdesivir to Illinois, 110 cases to New Jersey, 40 cases to Michigan, 30 cases each to Connecticut and Maryland and 10 cases to Iowa. Each case contains 40 vials of the drug, the department said in a statement.

Early trials have shown the anti-viral medication speed up recovery times for those with severe cases, and some coronavirus patients who have already tried the drug say it saved their life.

UNC researchers played a key role in the development of the drug, and Duke University Hospital is also participating in the trials -- it began offering the treatment to eligible patients in March.