White House immunologist Dr Anthony Fauci has announced the discovery of the first effective coronavirus treatment, which is set to be approved for use later today. Speaking at the White House Wednesday, Dr Fauci said worldwide tests on anti-viral drug Remdesivir showed it had a ‘clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery’ for Covid-19 patients who were treated with it.

He continued: ‘This is really quite important for a number of reasons, it’s highly significant.’ Dr Fauci said the average recovery time in patients given Remdesivir was 11 days, compared to 15 days for Covid-19 patients assigned the placebo, equivalent to a 31% improvement.

He added: ‘What it has proven is that a drug can block this virus. Looking forward, we think this is very optimistic. The mortality rate trended towards being better – 8% (of people given Remdesivir later died) versus 11% (who died after being given the placebo)’ Dr Fauci said Remdesivir’s early success was announced for ethical reasons, to give patients currently suffering from coronavirus a better chance of being treated with a drug now known to be effective.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will now announce Remdesivir as an emergency treatment for Covid-19 sufferers in the United States as early as later today.

The immunologist referenced the battle to find an effective treatment for HIV during the 1980s – which he as a key part of. He added that Remdesivir could potentially be combined with other drugs to yield even better results, just like a combination of medicines have been used to successfully treat HIV.

Dr Fauci’s announcement marks the first big breakthrough in the race to find an effective treatment for coronavirus. He spoke while flanked by a smiling Dr Deborah Birx – the White House coronavirus task force’s coordinator, and President Trump.

Dr Fauci has repeatedly urged caution after President Trump hailed Remdesivir and anti-malaria treatment hydroxychloroquine as potentially powerful Covid-19 treatments, with Wednesday’s announcement his most optimistic announcement since the outbreak began.

Dr Fauci explained that the trial had been conducted by the US National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, of which he is director. It sponsored the trial, which began on February 21 and involved some patients being given a placebo – dummy treatment – while others were given Remdesivir itself. He described the trial as ‘highly-powered,’ with 1,090 patients given either the drug or the placebo across the world, including in Germany, Greece, Denmark and the UK.

Dr Fauci said independent auditors judged the success of Remdesivir on how quickly it helped coronavirus patients recover. He stressed that Remdesivir is a treatment for people who have already been diagnosed with Covid-19, rather than a cure for the disease, or a preventative to stop it from developing in the first place. Dr Fauci said the race to develop a vaccine to prevent Covid-19 continues, with teams across the world attempting to formulate an effective shot

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