Gilead Shares Slide As China Cancels Another Remdesivir Study

Gilead Shares Slide As China Cancels Another Remdesivir Study

Over the weekend, a headline out of mainland China caught our eye, even as it was seemingly ignored by the broader mainstream press: a day earlier, Gilead had announced that health authorities in Beijing had shuttered a trial of Gilead’s remdesivir, one of the earliest ‘miracle drugs’ identified as a possible treatment for severe COVID-19 symptoms.

The reason given was a lack of patients in severe condition at the hospital in Wuhan where the study was being run. While that seemed to fit with China’s ‘narrative’ that the outbreak has been successfully repressed, it didn’t seem to comport with the facts on the ground. The notion that China is out of patients in critical condition is ridiculous, especially considering that Chinese nationals who caught the virus abroad continue to return to the mainland, risking a second wave, according to Beijing.

Now, Chinese health officials just announced on Wednesday that they would be shutting down another arm of the remdesivir study that was taking place on the mainland. The excuse was the same as it was last time: not enough eligible patients.

According to BBG, Capital Medical University in Beijing said recruitment for the trial had been suspended because “the epidemic of COVID-19 has been controlled well at present, no eligible patients can be recruited.”

The CEO of Gilead Daniel O’Day sad in a Friday letter that the remdesivir study in Wuhan, which was focusing on seriously ill patients, had shown promising results, while other trials ongoing in North America were also making good progress.

Gilead shares slumped on the news as the rest of the market realized what we saw over the weekend: The ‘not enough eligible patients’ excuse is just a ruse. Beijing is now deliberately tampering with the work of an American biotech firm.

Gilead shares slid ~4% in premarket trade.

Notably, remdesivir was one of four drugs or drug combos being tested in a global trial coordinated by the WHO. Another study published yesterday seemed to add to the body of evidence showing that remdesivir is effective at fighting COVID-19. And the US military is already using the drug to treat the hundreds of American soldiers who have been infected.

It’s almost as if Beijing wants to instigate a second wave of the virus…and the fact that this decision comes less than 24 hours after President Trump pulled funding from the WHO for repeatedly kowtowing to Beijing.


Tyler Durden

Wed, 04/15/2020 – 09:30