US stock index futures rise sharply following Gilead Sciences' statement on remdesivir

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ (NIAID) trial of the antiviral remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19 met its primary endpoint, Gilead Sciences Inc. said in a statement on Wednesday. The company also published its results from the Phase-3 trial with key takeaways found below.

"Study demonstrates similar efficacy with 5- and 10-day dosing durations of remdesivir."

"No new safety signals were identified with remdesivir across either treatment group."

"Remdesivir was generally well-tolerated in both 5-day and 10-day treatment groups."

"Study demonstrated patients receiving 10-day treatment course of remdesivir achieved similar improvement in clinical status vs those taking 5-day treatment course."

"Clinical outcomes in phase 3 trial of investigational antiviral remdesivir varied by geography."

"Results from first 600 patients of second simple trial expected at end of May."

"Outside of Italy, overall mortality rate at day 14 in study was 7% (n=23/320) across both treatment groups."

"Patients in remdesivir trial achieved clinical recovery if they no longer required oxygen support & medical care."

"Patients in remdesivir trial achieved clinical recovery if they were discharged from hospital."

Market reaction

These remarks seem to have provided a boost to the market sentiment. As of writing, the S&P 500 futures were gaining 1.9% on the day while Germany's DAX and Euro Stoxx 50 were up 1.2% and 0.6%, respectively.