⁍ A row broke out on Friday over a World Health Organization (WHO) clinical trial which concluded that the anti-viral drug remdesivir has little or no impact on a patient’s chances of surviving COVID-19.

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⁍ Gilead Sciences Inc., the U.S. company that developed the drug, said the findings appeared inconsistent with evidence from other studies validating the clinical benefit of remdesivir.

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⁍ But Richard Peto, an independent statistician hired by the WHO to scrutinize the results of its Solidarity trial, dismissed Gilead’s criticism.

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– The drug remdesivir was used to treat President Trump with a coronavirus before it was pulled from the market over safety concerns. Now, the World Health Organization is downplaying the benefits of the same drug in treating people with the West Nile virus, the New York Times reports. According to Reuters, WHO announced Thursday that remdesivir had little or no effect on keeping people alive or on the length of hospital stays among COVID-19 patients. The WHO says it’s the first time remdesivir has been shown to have no effect on survival in a COVID-19 trial involving more than 11,000 patients in more than 30 countries. Gilead Sciences, the US company that developed remdesivir as an Ebola drug before it was pulled from the market over safety concerns, says the WHO’s findings are inconsistent with other studies showing the drug’s benefits. “We are concerned the data from this open-label global trial has not undergone the rigorous review required to allow for constructive scientific discussion,” Gilead says. But an independent statistician hired by the WHO says the results are “real world evidence.” “There isn’t sufficient emphasis based on the need for large numbers if you want really reliable results,” he says. WHO says it will release guidance on how countries should use remdesivir in the near future. Meanwhile, the European Union has given remdesivir emergency authorization, and the European Medicines Agency says it will review the trial data “to see if any changes are needed to the way these medicines are used.