Remdesivir: an overview of patenting trends, clinical evidence on COVID-19 treatment, pharmacology and chemistry

Pharm Pat Anal. 2022 Mar;11(2):57-73. doi: 10.4155/ppa-2021-0023. Epub 2022 May 31.

Abstract

By December 2021, the COVID-19 caused approximately 6.1 million deaths around the world. Several vaccines have been approved, but there is still a need for non-prophylactic treatments for COVID-19. Remdesivir is an antiviral drug approved for emergency use against COVID-19 in several countries, but one of the first clinical trials was inconclusive about the mortality reduction, although the drug showed a reduction in the recovery time of hospitalized patients. Thus, the present investigation revisits the clinical evidence of using remdesivir for COVID-19 treatment, patent status, pharmacology and chemistry. We found 184 families of patents in the Cortellis database, and concerning the clinical evidence, we retrieved 14 systematic reviews with meta-analysis involving remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19, discussing the reduction of adverse events, hospitalization days, mortality rate and the mechanical ventilation period.

Keywords: COVID-19; GS-441524; SARS-CoV-2; clinical improvement; mortality rate; oral formulations; patent information; remdesivir; systematic review with meta-analysis.

Publication types

  • Meta-Analysis

MeSH terms

  • Adenosine Monophosphate / adverse effects
  • Adenosine Monophosphate / analogs & derivatives
  • Alanine / analogs & derivatives
  • Antiviral Agents / adverse effects
  • COVID-19 Drug Treatment*
  • Humans
  • SARS-CoV-2

Substances

  • Antiviral Agents
  • remdesivir
  • Adenosine Monophosphate
  • Alanine