Gilead data shows COVID drug Veklury shows benefit if given early, cuts hospitalization risk
MikeMareen/iStock Editorial via Getty Images

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) reported data showing activity of its COVID-19 therapy Veklury (remdesivir) based on real-world results from over 850K patients, and a post-hoc analysis of a phase 3 trial.
The company said that analysis of real world data confirmed Vekluryâs position as a foundational treatment for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and signify the need to treat patients early before they become more severely ill with COVID-19.
Gilead added the first study consisted of analysis of the real-world treatment data from the Premier Healthcare Database of 853,219 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.S.
Foster City, Calif.-based Gilead said the analysis found that more than 50% of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 received Veklury, predominantly in combination with other therapies.
The company said that as pandemic progressed, initiation of Veklury within two days of hospitalization increased from 41% to 91% between May 2020 and December 2021.
During this period, as new variants arose and disease severity fluctuated, median hospital length of stay (LOS) decreased to 6 days from 7 with the greatest benefit in invasive mechanical ventilation/ECMO patients (15 days to 11 days).
While ICU use decreased from 34% to 27%, with the greatest benefit was in high-flow oxygen/non-invasive ventilation (66% to 52%), overall ICU length of stay remained the same, the company said in an April 24 press release.
Gilead (GILD) added that overall mortality rates remained stable at 16%, with the greatest decline over time in patients on low-flow supplemental oxygen (15% to 12%).
In addition, the company said post-hoc analysis from a phase 3 trial, dubbed PINETREE, showed that a three-day course of Veklury significantly reduced the risk of hospitalization.
Gilead (GILD) said the benefit was modestly greater the sooner Veklury was administered. Patients treated with Veklury within five days of symptom onset had a 90% reduced risk for hospitalization, while patients who received Veklury after five 5 days of symptom onset experienced an 81% reduction in risk of hospitalization.
The company noted the new analysis data builds on the previously presented main goal data, in which Veklury showed a statistically significant 87% reduction in risk for the composite primary endpoint of COVID-19 related hospitalization or all-cause death by Day 28.
âThe data presented at ECCMID, not only underscore Veklury as the antiviral standard of care for COVID-19 treatment in hospitalized patients, but they also further emphasize that patients can benefit from Veklury when itâs given up to seven days after the onset of symptoms and that the benefit is greater the sooner it is administered,â said Frank Duff, senior vice president, Virology Therapeutic head, Gilead (GILD).
The company presented these two analysis and data from other studies at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2022).
Last week (April 22), the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the use of Gilead's (GILD) remdesivir in patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 who are at high risk of hospitalization, following publication of new data.