NIH funds study to evaluate remdesivir for COVID-19 in pregnancy

A new study will evaluate the effects of remdesivir (Veklury—Gilead Sciences) in pregnant women who have been prescribed the drug to treat COVID-19. To be conducted at 17 sites around the United States, the study will investigate how pregnant women metabolize the drug and whether there are any potential adverse effects. The research will look at how remdesivir is absorbed, moves through the body, and is broken down and eliminated in pregnant women and nonpregnant women of childbearing potential who receive it as part of clinical care. For women who received the drug within 5 days of delivery, samples from the plasma and umbilical cord will be analyzed for insight into remdesivir’s pharmacokinetics in the placenta. Breast milk will also be tested for remdesivir among women who are lactating. Additionally, researchers will document any potential adverse events that could occur with use of the drug. The study is funded by NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the National Institute of Mental Health, and it will be conducted by the NIH-funded International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials (IMPAACT) Network.