Prophylactic and therapeutic remdesivir (GS-5734) treatment in the rhesus macaque model of MERS-CoV infection

The continued emergence of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) cases with a high case fatality rate stresses the need for the availability of effective antiviral treatments. Remdesivir (GS-5734) effectively inhibited MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV) replication in vitro, and showed efficacy against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)-CoV in a mouse model. Here, we tested the efficacy of prophylactic and therapeutic remdesivir treatment in a nonhuman primate model of MERS-CoV infection, the rhesus macaque. Prophylactic remdesivir treatment initiated 24 h prior to inoculation completely prevented MERS-CoV-induced clinical disease, strongly inhibited MERS-CoV replication in respiratory tissues, and prevented…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• GS
  Gilead Sciences
• DO
  Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
• NI
  National Institutes of Health
• BA
  Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority
• NI
  National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
• ND
  NHLBI Division of Intramural Research