Gilead stock plummets after disappointing COVID-19 drug trial results published by accident

Shares of pharma giant Gilead Sciences fell sharply today after details of a clinical trial for a much-anticipated antiviral drug suggested no immediate benefit for patients diagnosed with COVID-19.

Summary results published online said patients in China who took Gilead’s remdesivir did not recover more quickly from severe cases of the disease caused by the coronavirus, nor did the drug prevent patient deaths, STAT News reported.

The summary was posted accidentally on the WHO’s website and quickly taken down. It contained “inappropriate characterization of the study,” a Gilead spokesperson told STAT.

Shares of Gilead were down more than 5.5% in midday trading.

Last week, Wall Street saw a bump after early results from a remdesivir trial at the University of Chicago suggested positive benefits for patients with severe COVID-19. As the Financial Times points out, analysts have generally warned investors against overreacting to news about potential coronavirus drugs, as the road to effective treatments is likely to be a long one.