Pfizer says antiviral COVID-19 pill cut hospital, death risk by 90%

Pfizer on Friday said that its experimental antiviral pill for COVID-19 cut rates of hospitalisation and death by nearly 90% in high-risk adults. With the introduction of its pill, it has joined the race to bring the first easy-to-use medication against the coronavirus to the US market.

Currently, all COVID-19 treatments require an IV or injection. Competitor Merck’s pill that was okayed by the UK is under review at the Food and Drug Administration.

The drugs company said that it will ask the FDA and international regulators to authorise its pill at the soonest.

Once Pfizer applies, the FDA could make a decision within weeks or months. Once authorised, they would sell the drug under the name Paxlovid.

Pfizer conducted the study on 775 adults. Subjects, who received the drug along with antiviral after showing COVID-19 symptoms had an 89% reduction in their combined rate of hospitalisation or death after a month. This was compared to the ones who took a dummy pill.

Fewer than 1% of patients taking the drug needed to be hospitalized; it caused no fatalities.

“We were hoping that we had something extraordinary, but it’s rare that you see great drugs come through with almost 90% efficacy and 100% protection for death,” said Dr. Mikael Dolsten, Pfizer’s chief scientific officer, in an interview.

Pfizer’s drug is part of a decades-old family of antiviral drugs known as protease inhibitors. The drugs block a key enzyme which viruses need to multiply.

The drug was first identified during the SARS outbreak that originated in Asia in 2003. Given the similarities between the two viruses, the company decided to bring the drug to the fore and then study it for COVID-19.

Other than this, the US already has one approved antiviral drug for COVID-19, remdesivir. It has also authorised three antibody therapies, helping the immune system fight the virus.

Before the opening bell on Friday, Pfizer shares jumped more than 9%.

(With inputs from Associated Press)