remdesivir

noun

rem·​des·​i·​vir ˌrem-ˈde-sə-ˌvir 

: an antiviral agent C₂₇H₃₅N₆O₈P that is administered intravenously and inhibits viral replication by interfering with RNA polymerase function

Note: Remdesivir is a nucleotide prodrug that undergoes metabolic conversion in the body to a triphosphate nucleotide.

As part of a national clinical trial, the Orange County team of medical scientists are authorized to use the antiviral drug remdesivir—once developed to treat the Ebola virus—on certain COVID-19 patients hospitalized at UCI Medical Center in Orange.

—Theresa Walker

Previous research in cell cultures and animal models has shown that remdesivir can block replication of a variety of coronaviruses …

—Victoria Rees

Examples of remdesivir in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

One of the biggest changes occurred in 2020 with a huge increase in the use of words like lockdown,pandemic, respiratory and remdesivir during the covid outbreak, an event that is widely acknowledged to have had one of biggest impacts on scientific publishing in history. —The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 28 June 2024

The Company believes that since remdesivir is already US FDA approved, our drug candidate encapsulating remdesivir is likely to be an approvable drug, if safety is comparable. —Kansas City Star, 24 June 2024

This summer, the United States bought up virtually all the supplies of remdesivir, one of the first drugs proven to work against COVID-19, leaving none for the United Kingdom, the EU, or most of the rest of the world for three months. —Thomas J. Bollyky, Foreign Affairs, 27 July 2020

There’s also remdesivir, which is administered intravenously. —Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

rem- (of undetermined origin) + -desi-, infix denoting an adenosine analog (probably from adenosine) + -vir, combining element denoting an antiviral compound (from virus)

Note: According to the prescriptions of the U.S. Adopted Names Council, the initial element in generic drug names is to be meaningless.

First Known Use

2017, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

remdesivir

noun

rem·​des·​i·​vir ˌrem-ˈdes-ə-ˌvir 

: an antiviral agent C₂₇H₃₅N₆O₈P that is administered intravenously and inhibits viral replication by interfering with RNA polymerase function

Note: Remdesivir is a nucleotide prodrug that undergoes metabolic conversion in the body to a triphosphate nucleotide.

… patients with moderate-to-severe Covid-19 who were treated with remdesivir had a shorter time to recovery and a lower risk of progression to more severe respiratory disease than patients who received placebo.

—Robert L. Gottlieb et al., The New England Journal of Medicine