A drug shown to shorten recovery time in some covid-19 patients is now available at four Allegheny Health Network hospitals.
Doses of the antiviral medication remdesivir have been delivered to AHN’s Allegheny Valley, Forbes, Jefferson and West Penn hospitals.
Remdesivir is classified as an investigational medication. Following a clinical trial, it has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use for patients on oxygen therapy or mechanical ventilation.
The drug also is available to some hospitals, including AHN’s Allegheny General Hospital, as part of an expanded access treatment protocol by the drug’s manufacturer, Gilead Sciences, officials said.
Remdesivir is administered to patients through an IV and may help decrease the amount of coronavirus in a person’s body, which may help them recover more quickly, said Dr. Brian Parker, AHN’s chief quality officer.
“As the only drug proven to be effective against covid-19 in a rigorous trial, we are pleased to be able to treat our most critically ill, hospitalized patients with the therapy,” Parker said.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health said it determined which hospitals would received shipments of the medication based on the number of covid-19 patients at the hospital over a recent seven-day period, and the severity of the illness of those patients based on whether they were on a ventilator.
As the health department acquires more doses of remdesivir, AHN said it will work to obtain additional doses.
