by Steve Goldstein
Market Watch
What Gilead Sciences gives, Gilead Sciences takes away. A report showing a leaked draft of a trial showing Gilead’s remdesivir didn’t speed up improvement in coronavirus patients in China or prevent them from dying sapped gains on Wall Street on Thursday, about a week after a leaked report of doctors discussing remdesivir’s benefit in Chicago sent Wall Street into a frenzy.
Alternatives aren’t as yet apparent. “Supposing we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful, light,” suggested President Donald Trump at Thursday’s press briefing.
What is clear is that there isn’t as yet a proven treatment for COVID-19, which, according to the Johns Hopkins tracker, has killed 190,810 worldwide. But the S&P 500 has climbed 25% from its closing low on March 23, after dropping as much as 34% from its February peak.