Mutation Linked to Remdesivir Resistance Found in Covid Patient
- Gilead’s drug was the first FDA-approved medicine for Covid
- E802D mutation found to reduce the fitness of SARS-CoV-2 virus
Photographer: Ulrich Perrey/AFP/Getty Images
Resistance to Gilead Sciences Inc.’s antiviral remdesivir was found in coronavirus samples collected from an immune-compromised patient treated with the drug for a persistent Covid-19 infection, researchers said.
Similar mutations causing resistance have been generated in lab studies, but haven’t been previously reported in patients treated with the injectable medicine, Shiv Gandhi, Akiko Iwasaki and colleagues at the Yale University School of Medicine said. The patient, a woman in her 70s who had been treated for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, caught Covid in May 2020. Remdesivir helped alleviate symptoms, but wasn’t able to completely clear the infection. It persisted for several months, affecting her sense of smell.