'Best Option That We Have': Boston Hospitals Start Remdesivir Trials To Treat Coronavirus Patients
BOSTON (CBS) -- Brigham and Women's Hospital is testing one of the potential treatments for the coronavirus. It's an experimental drug called remdesivir and is one of the promising drugs President Donald Trump touted in a recent Coronavirus Task Force briefing.
WBZ-TV spoke with Dr. Francisco Marty, a researcher in the hospital's division of infectious diseases who is behind the effort. He said screening for patients began Friday and the hope is to get results in two months.
"That's pretty fast for an infectious diseases trial," he said.
There are two trials at the Brigham testing remdesivir, which inhibits coronavirus replication. One study is of patients who have moderate symptoms and one in patients with a severe case of the disease.
"There is good very data from in vitro and animal models that the drug should work," Marty said. "Humans are not experimental animals, so the results may be different, but i think it's the best option that we have that we can start testing right now."
Massachusetts General Hospital is also starting to test the drug.
