On Friday, the World Health Organization changed its guidelines regarding the use of the anti-viral drug Remdesivir in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

The UN health body has issued a conditional recommendation against the use of remdesivir in hospitalized patients, regardless of disease severity, as there is currently no evidence that remdesivir improves survival and other outcomes in these patients.

Gilead's antiviral drug remdesivir earned global fame when initial trials showed its effectiveness in reducing the hospital stay of patients infected with the novel coronavirus. Currently, over 50 countries have included this antiviral drug, which is given intravenously, as part of COVID-19 protocol in critically ill patients who need ventilator support. U.S. President Donald Trump also took this drug when he was hospitalized with COVID-19 a few weeks ago.

But the latest studies by the World Health Organization have shown that there is no evidence that costly remdesivir improves survival or reduces the need for ventilation, WHO panel told the media.

This recommendation of WHO is part of a living guideline on clinical care for COVID-19. It was developed by an international guideline development group, which includes 28 clinical care experts, 4 patient-partners, and one ethicist.

WHO officials have told the media that work on this began on 15th October when the WHO Solidarity Trial published its interim results. Data reviewed by the panel included results from this trial, as well as 3 other randomized controlled trials. In all, data from over 7,000 patients across the 4 trials were considered.

The WHO panel noted:

The evidence suggested no important effect on mortality, need for mechanical ventilation, time to clinical improvement, and other patient-important outcomes.

The prestigious health organization guidelines recognized that "more research is needed" to recommend the FDA approved antiviral drug Remdesivir to COVID-19 patients.

The pharmaceutical company Gilead has dubbed the latest guidelines as disappointing and has questioned the findings of the Solidarity Trial.