Regarding Sally Pipes’s argument against federal revocation of Gilead Sciences ’ patent for remdesivir: Her statement that the drug is “only appropriate for a fraction of Covid-19 patients” warrants further consideration (“The Remdesivir Patent Isn’t State Property,” op-ed, Sept. 2). A general principle of antiviral therapy is that treatment should be instituted early before serious organ damage has occurred. There is widespread consensus that severe Covid-19 is related to the cascade of downstream effects unleashed by the virus, including massive immunologic activation, severe pneumonia and blood clots involving multiple organs. The Covid-19 epidemic cries out for an antiviral therapy that can interrupt the disease course at an early stage. The problem is not that remdesivir is inappropriate for early infection, but that adequate studies have not been performed because of the initial prioritization of studies in sicker patients.

Source: Wall Street Journal September 08, 2020 17:26 UTC