Pfizer pill is effective in protecting against severe disease, company says

PanARMENIAN.Net - A pill manufactured by the prominent Covid-19 vaccine provider Pfizer is highly effective in protecting against severe disease from coronavirus, the company said on Tuesday, December 14, The Guardian reports.

The experimental antiviral pill Paxlovid is also effective against the Omicron variant that is spreading rapidly across the world, the company announced, citing laboratory testing.

In clinical trials, Paxlovid showed almost 90% efficacy in preventing hospitalization and death in high-risk patients, Pfizer stated, replicating the results of a smaller-scale trial announced last month.

Those results prompted the company to seek authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the pill to become the first widely available oral medicine to combat coronavirus.

Regulators in the UK last month approved the twice-daily pill Molnupiravir, manufactured by Merck/Ridgeback, for use in elderly and at-risk patients, but its approval has stalled in the US amid safety concerns.

Pfizer hopes that Tuesday’s announcement will bolster its case with the FDA, allowing for an early US approval and infected Americans having access to the pill by early next year.

“Our oral antiviral candidate, if authorized or approved, could have a meaningful impact on the lives of many, as the data further support the efficacy of Paxlovid in reducing hospitalization and death and show a substantial decrease in viral load,” said Albert Bourla, the company’s chief executive, in a statement.

“This potential treatment could be a critical tool to help quell the pandemic.”