Optimism about a potential treatment for Covid-19 gave a shot in the arm to stock markets around the world, amid claims that a drug called remdesivir has spurred rapid recovery in 113 patients.
A University of Chicago hospital participating in a study of the antiviral medication, made by US firm Gilead Sciences, found that nearly all patients suffering severe fever and respiratory symptoms were discharged within a week. A report of the study, issued by specialist healthcare publication Stat News shortly after Wall Street closed on Thursday night, spurred hopes among investors that lockdowns around the world could soon be eased.
The FTSE 100 gained nearly 3% – or 158 points – to close at 5786 on Friday, its best daily performance since 9 April, while the EU-wide Stoxx 600 gained 2.4% (again, to its highest since Tuesday), with strong gains in Paris and Frankfurt
On Wall Street, hopes that the drug could have a global impact helped the Dow Jones industrial average hit 24,150 by lunchtime, its highest level since 10 March, and nearly 30% above last month’s lowest point.
Shares in Gilead, which first developed remdesivir as a treatment for the Ebola virus, climbed 10% before settling back during the day at 7.2% higher than their opening price.
Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at share trading firm IG, said: “Trial results have breathed a new sense of optimism into markets, with many seeing this as the potential beginning of the end for this coronavirus crisis.”
Analysts at CMC Markets said the more positive sentiment among investors was also thanks to lockdown restrictions beginning to ease off in countries including Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain.
“Governments are clearly keen to unwind the restrictions in a measured fashion, but the message is positive nonetheless.”
Dire economic data from China, where economic output for the first three months came in at -6.8% compared to 6% growth in the final quarter of last year, failed to dispel the optimism around the positive signs from Gilead’s remdesivir trial.
The University of Chicago recruited 125 people into a clinical trial, according to the report, of which 113 had severe cases of Covid-19. All of them received daily remdesivir doses. Two patients died but most of the rest have already been discharged after their symptoms eased significantly.
Last month, Donald Trump flagged up the potential of remdesivir, saying it “seems to have a very good result”.
In a statement, Gilead said: “What we can say at this stage is that we look forward to data from ongoing studies becoming available.”
The biotechnology company, based in Foster City, California, had previously said to expect results for its trial involving severe cases in April.
In a video obtained by Stat News, Kathleen Mullane, the infectious disease specialist overseeing the study, said it was hard to draw conclusions because remdesivir was not being compared against results from a group taking a placebo drug.
“But certainly when we start [the] drug, we see fever curves falling,” she said. “We have seen people come off ventilators a day after starting therapy. So, in that realm, overall our patients have done very well.
“Most of our patients are severe and most of them are leaving at six days, so that tells us duration of therapy doesn’t have to be 10 days. We have very few that went out to 10 days, maybe three.”
One study participant, Sławomir Michalak, 57, told Stat News: “My fever dropped almost immediately and I started to feel better.”
Michalak said he was being weaned off oxygen after his second dose of the drug and received two more daily infusions before recovering enough to be discharged from the hospital. “Remdesivir was a miracle,” he said.
However, Hilary Hutton-Squire, general manager and vice-president of Gilead Sciences in the UK and Ireland, told Sky News: “What we’ve seen is a hospital talk about their experience … we really need to look at the results of that trial, and indeed other trials that are ongoing at the moment, in totality before we can really reach conclusions about the efficacy and safety of remdesivir.”
The Gilead study of severe Covid-19 patients involves 2,400 participants being treated at 152 sites around the world. IT is also running a study of more moderate Covid-19 symptoms, involving 1,600 patients at 169 centres.
