Preclinical potencies of clinical COVID-19 candidates

Among the several dozen agents in clinical testing for COVID-19, in vitro data against the new coronavirus have only been reported for four, and they support the WHO’s prioritization of remdesivir from Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD).

WHO's R&D Blueprint Clinical Trials expert group named remdesivir, a nucleotide analog, the most promising candidate for COVID-19 in a Jan. 29 draft report, and this week, Gilead announced plans to ramp up manufacturing of the compound, though it is not yet approved for any indication (see “Gilead Ramping Up Remdesivir Production” and “WHO Prioritizing Gilead’s Remdesivir”). ...