Shares of biotechnology company Gilead Sciences went up by as much as 11% early on Wednesday. Reason??
The company claimed that it has received positive results in the clinical trials of one of its ongoing coronavirus treatments based on Remdesivir.
Remdesivir, an antiviral drug that is currently under testing, has been found to give positive results against COVID-19 in a study conducted by the US National Institutes of Health. There is no additional data about the effects of the drug at the moment.
In a statement, Gilead called the benchmark as a ¡°primary endpoint" for the trial. In a separate statement about the trial, Gilead shared data from the trial of Remdesivir.
What is missing from the trials is a comparison group. Comparing results from another group that was not administered the drug could have had much more impact on the authenticity of the results.
Last week, Remdesivir failed to deliver any promising results in another of its clinical trials. With the turnaround, more information is awaited from the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The antiviral drug has had a history of treating Ebola in the past. Now in the frontline of the drugs being tested as a possible Coronavirus cure, positive results from Remdesivir are a ray of hope for humans across the globe and the US stock market has reflected that.