Inside STAT: The long, winding journey of the leading candidate to treat Covid-19

(ALEX HOGAN/STAT) 

With governments and scientists scrambling to come up with a treatment for Covid-19, there’s one contender that’s way out in front. Called remdesivir and made by Gilead Sciences, it has a long history in industry, government, and academic labs and has inhibited other coronaviruses in preclinical studies. Now, it’s being rushed into patients through compassionate use and in five clinical trials, with the first data expected next month. But remdesivir has also hit stumbling blocks in the past, most notably when it underperformed as an Ebola treatment. I have the story on the drug’s winding journey and what’s at stake with the clinical trials here.