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UT Health San Antonio and University Hospital move into second phase of testing for coronavirus drug

The second phase of the remdesivir clinical trial follows 'encouraging results from the initial part of the study,' according to a press release from UHS.

SAN ANTONIO — Promising news from the COVID-19 Infectious Disease team at University Health System and UT Health. The team will be starting the second phase of patient testing for a coronavirus drug, remdesivir.  

The trial, which is being sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, follows 'encouraging results from the initial part of the study.'

The study, which began on February 21, involved 20 University Hospital patients and a total of 1,063 patients from 75 U.S. and international sites. The group was given either remdesivir or a placebo pill. 

Results showed that remdesivir improved recovery time by 31% from 15 to 11 days and improved the death rate from 11.6% to 8%. 

On May 1, the U.S FDA cited the results and gave emergency authorization for the drug to be used for qualified, hospitalized patients outside of the clinical trial. 

In this second phase, the infectious Disease team will administer an anti-inflammatory medication along with remdesivir to see if they can improve the outcomes even further. 

Dr. Thomas Patterson, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at UT Health San Antonio is hopeful the study could eventually lead to an effective, oral treatment that will prevent the virus from multiplying and lessen the severity of the illness.

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