In a report we issued earlier this week we discussed several therapeutic approaches. One is using an antiviral. The NIH has just issued an early report validating some of the assertions. They note:
Early treatment with the experimental antiviral drug remdesivir
significantly reduced clinical disease and damage to the lungs of rhesus
macaques infected with SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes
COVID-19, according to National Institutes of Health scientists. The study was designed to follow dosing and treatment procedures used
for hospitalized COVID-19 patients being administered remdesivir in a
large, multi-center, clinical trial led by NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The scientists posted the work(link is external)
on the preprint server bioRxiv. The findings are not yet peer-reviewed
and should not be considered clinical advice, but are being shared to
assist the public health response to COVID-19. A study detailing the
development of the rhesus macaque model of mild- to-moderate human
disease, conducted by the same team of NIAID scientists, was posted to bioRxiv(link is external) on March 21.
We also indicated approaches dealing with the cytokine storms, infections, and blocking entry of the virus with MAbs.