Washington, October 16: A clinical trial by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that Gilead Sciences Inc's remdesivir had little or no effect on COVID-19 patients' duration of hospital stay or their chances of survival, according to a Reuters report.

The drug was also used to treat US President Donald Trump's coronavirus infection. The results are from WHO's "Solidarity" trial, which evaluated the effects of four potential drug regimens, including remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, anti-HIV drug combination lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon, in 11,266 adult patients across more than 30 countries. COVID-19 Vaccine Update: WHO Says Widespread Vaccination Not Possible Until Mid-2021.

The study found the regimens appeared to have little or no effect on 28-day mortality or the length of the in-hospital course among patients hospitalized with COVID-19, the WHO informed on Thursday.

However, earlier this month, a data from a US study of remdesivir by Gilead showed that the treatment cut COVID-19 recovery time by five days compared with patients who got a placebo in a trial comprising 1,062 patients.

Remdesivir received emergency use authorisation from the US. Food and Drug Administration on May 1, and has since been authorized for use in several countries.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 16, 2020 11:46 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).