According to Oriental Daily, the Health Director-General, Datuk Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah, has confirmed that Malaysia has obtained the Remdesivir drug from the "SOLIDARITY Trial" initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO). The drug was distributed to hospitals nationwide to 100 COVID-19 patients to test its effectiveness on curing COVID-19.

At a separate report by the New Straits Times, a COVID-19 patient in Sungai Buloh Hospital will be the first patient to receive the antiviral drug, Remdesivir. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health (MoH) has started its recruitment of COVID-19 patients for clinical trials of the drug.

  
Photo source: NST

"We have received the drug and distributed it to nine hospitals. We have also recruited one case for the clinical trial, and we aim at getting 100 patients," he mentioned, as reported in NST.

It was learned that Remdesivir is developed by the American biotechnology company, Gilead Sciences Inc. This drug has experimented with animals that are suffering from viruses that are similar to COVID-19. And the company also disclosed that the drug has improved COVID-19 patients' results. The data stated also claimed that the drug works better in the early stage of the infection.

Dr. Noor Hisham explained that it will probably take 6 months before reports on the trial could be completed and handed to the WHO.

"WHO will then look into all the reports from (clinical trials done) around the world, including Malaysia, and study them according to their protocols," he said.

Cover photo: Malay Mail || NST