Coronavirus mutations which exhibit resistance to the antiviral drug remdesivir were detected in an immunocompromised patient who had previously been treated with the drug, researchers have found, raising concerns about the possible emergence of more drug resistant versions of Covid-19 in patients who face persistent illness.
In a preprint study published on Medrxiv, researchers found that a woman in her 70s who had been treated with the drug had failed to completely clear her Covid-19 infection for several months.
A genetic examination of the virus showed that it had mutated during treatment in a manner that reduced the effectiveness of the antiviral drug, manufactured by Gilead.
According to Professor Akiko Iwasaki, one of the study’s authors, remdesivir initially brought the patient’s viral load down but it rose again during the course of the remdesivir treatment.
The persistent infection was eventually successfully treated using monoclonal antibodies, according to the study.
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