Text size

U.S. equity futures roared higher on Thursday evening following a report that a drug developed by Gilead Sciences may be showing promise as a Covid-19 treatment.

Gilead stock (ticker: GILD) soared 14% in after-market trading. Dow futures jumped 3.5% while S&P 500 futures rose 3.2%.

Of 125 patients recruited by the University of Chicago for Phase 3 Trials taking Gilead’s drug remdesivir, with 113 cases considered severe, most have been discharged, according to a report from STAT News.

The outlet cited a recording it reviewed of University of Chicago Medicine infectious disease expert Kathleen Mullane discussing trial results with colleagues.

Mullane reportedly said two people had died, while most had been discharged. She did warn against drawing strong conclusions, according to STAT News, given the severe cases did not have a placebo group to compare with. Still, she said her patients have done “very well.”

“Most of our patients are severe and most of them are leaving at six days, so that tells us duration of therapy doesn’t have to be 10 days,” she said on the recording, according to STAT News. “We have very few that went out to 10 days, maybe three.”

Gilead spokesman Chris Ridley said in an emailed statement to Barron’s that the company expects data from its Phase 3 study in patients with severe Covid-19 infections to be available at the end of April, with additional data from other studies coming in May.

“We understand the urgent need for a COVID-19 treatment and the resulting interest in data on our investigational antiviral drug remdesivir,” Ridley said. “The totality of the data need to be analyzed in order to draw any conclusions from the trial. Anecdotal reports, while encouraging, do not provide the statistical power necessary to determine the safety and efficacy profile of remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19.”

Gilead shares have gained 17.8% in 2020, as investors bet on remdesivir’s potential as a Covid-19 treatment.

Biotech company Moderna’s (MRNA) shares rose about 18% after hours after it said it will receive as much as $483 million in funding from a U.S. government agency to accelerate the development of a vaccine to treat coronavirus.

Write to Connor Smith at connor.smith@barrons.com