Trump receiving Remdesivir therapy for COVID-19; all about the unapproved antibody drug

US President Donald Trump is receiving Remdesivir therapy at Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre, where he was admitted last afternoon after testing positive for COVID-19. According to the president's physician Sean Patrick Conley, Trump completed his first dose of Remdesivir on October 2. Conley said that Trump is doing "very well" at the hospital and is not requiring any supplementary oxygen. 

Read: Gilead Sciences Says remdesivir Reduces Risk Of Death In COVID-19 Patients

What is Remdesivir therapy?

Remdesivir is the first anti-viral drug that showed positive results in COVID-19 patients in formal clinical trials. It was granted emergency use authorisation by the US Food and Drug Administration in May this year when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak in the country and rest of the world. 

The US FDA authorised the drug for use in adults and children hospitalised for severe COVID-19. In August, FDA broadened its guidelines for emergency use authorisation to include all patients with confirmed COVID-19 regardless of the severity of the disease. However, FDA has not approved the drug as it says that the Remdesivir is an investigational antiviral drug. 

Read: TRUMPS COVID POSITIVE: US President Donald Trump & First Lady Melania Test Covid Positive

Trumps test positive 

The 74-year-old US President and the First Lady Melania Trump had announced testing positive for COVID-19 earlier on Friday. While the Republican leader’s age has put him at a higher risk of serious complications from the novel coronavirus, he had initially said there were only "mild symptoms". Melania, on the other hand, had said that the couple is “feeling good”.

Before confirming his positive result on Friday, Trump had earlier Tweeted about his adviser Hope Hicks testing positive for the novel Coronavirus. "Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for COVID 19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!" said Trump in his tweet. 

Read: Top Trump Aide Hope Hicks Tests Positive For Virus

Notably, Trump had on several occasions downplayed the COVID-19 threat and had once said that he personally felt no vulnerability to the disease. Days before testing positive, Trump had slammed his opponent Joe Biden at the first presidential debate for "always" wearing a face mask, even if he is 200 feet away from someone. Trump took out a mask from his pocket and said, " I carry a mask and wear it when it is necessary, not like Biden, who wears it even if he is 200 feet away from people."

Read: Obama Wishes Trump Speedy Recovery From COVID-19, Says 'we're All Human Beings'