Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Bolster Resources in Fight Against COVID-19 with Study of Remdesivir

Patients Will Receive the Antiviral Treatment as Part of Gilead Sciences' Expanded Access Program

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Apr 29, 2020, 09:58 ET

MILWAUKEE, April 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) were recently granted enrollment into Gilead Sciences' expanded access program (EAP) to treat COVID-19 patients with the antiviral medication Remdesivir, a promising therapy in the fight against the virus, which has already killed approximately 250 people in the state.

A limited number of patients at Froedtert Hospital will receive Remdesivir, one of the only antiviral medications that is currently being studied as a possible treatment for COVID-19 and the only one being tested in patients. Remdesivir affects cell replication by interfering with the genetic material inside the virus. As dictated by the EAP, eligible patients must be intubated and meet other parameters regarding renal and liver function. Gilead will supply each participating institution a limited supply of Remdesivir, as it is in extremely high demand nationally.

"We are excited to be chosen as a site so that we can offer this medication to some of our sickest patients," said Mary Beth Graham, MD, associate chief of the division of Infectious Disease at MCW, medical director of Infection Prevention & Control at Froedtert Hospital and principal investigator on the study. "Remdesivir, along with convalescent plasma, are two promising interventions that we now have available. By participating in trials for Remdesivir, as well as for convalescent plasma, we will be adding to the fund of knowledge that is needed to successfully treat COVID-19 and prepare us for the future."

An EAP is a means by which a drug company provides a treatment to patients before it is commercially available, with the primary purpose of diagnosing, monitoring, and/or treating a patient's life-threatening disease or condition. As there is no control group in this EAP, no preliminary data will be available from these treatments.

SOURCE Medical College of Wisconsin