Trialling Covid-19 cures: Remdesivir mixed into drug cocktail – The Wall Street Journal

Scientists are working hard at unleashing the power of remdesivir, one of the great hopes for treating SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, by combining it with other drugs in medical trials and testing different ways of administering it. Gilead's remdesivir was developed to treat Ebola – a virus that also appears to have jumped from animals, and quite possibly bats as may have been the case for Covid-19, to humans before spreading among people. The hunt for a preventative vaccine or cure for Covid-19 is a race against time, with many countries unable to lift lockdowns completely and restore normality until a vaccine or effective treatment is found. Remdesivir is just one of many therapies being tested. Others under investigation include drugs that have been used to treat malaria and autoimmune diseases and plasma transfusions from people who have recovered from Covid-19. The World Health Organisation has warned against relying on remedies that have not been tested by medical experts, after Madagascar's government announced the country has a herbal treatment for Covid-19. Reuters reports that African countries have been lining up for the tonic, based on the plant Artemisia annua which has anti-malarial properties. Madagascar has less than 200 confirmed cases of Covid-19 cases and no reported deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. – Jackie Cameron

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