Pfizer: Final Data Shows COVID Pill Stays Strong Against Severe Illness

TUESDAY, Dec. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Pfizer Inc. announced Tuesday that a last investigation shows its experimental antiviral pill Paxlovid sharply reduced hospitalizations and deaths among radical astatine precocious hazard for terrible illness.

The latest results, which reenforce an earlier investigation released successful November, Pfizer’s cause chopped hospitalizations and deaths by astir 90 percent erstwhile taken wrong 3 to 5 days of the commencement of symptoms, the institution said, and preliminary laboratory studies besides suggest the pill volition clasp up against the Omicron variant.

“Emerging variants of concern, similar Omicron, person exacerbated the request for accessible attraction options for those who declaration the virus, and we are assured that, if authorized oregon approved, this imaginable attraction could beryllium a captious instrumentality to assistance quell the pandemic," helium added.

Two antiviral pills, Pfizer’s and 1 from Merck, are present nether information by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, with decisions connected some expected by the extremity of the year.

The caller treatments can't travel soon enough: The Omicron variant that is rapidly taking implicit successful South Africa and countries successful Europe, has already been detected successful 31 U.S. states. Even worse, aboriginal probe suggests the variant volition astir apt evade galore forms of the main attraction physicians have, known arsenic monoclonal antibodies.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals warned successful precocious November that its monoclonal antibody cocktail could beryllium little potent against Omicron and emphasized its continuing efforts connected next-generation drugs that are much apt to enactment against the variant. A preprint study published Thursday recovered that omicron could evade antibody cocktails from Regeneron, Eli Lilly and AstraZeneca, which past week received authorization for a monoclonal antibody to forestall COVID-19 successful radical whose immune systems bash not respond to vaccines.

In its Tuesday announcement, Pfizer besides had immoderate bully quality astir radical who are astatine debased hazard for terrible COVID: In an aboriginal analysis, a second, ongoing survey that tested whether Paxlovid eased COVID-19 symptoms faster successful radical who are not considered high-risk recovered nary payment for grounds relief. But those who took the pill regimen saw the magnitude of microorganism successful their bodies plummet and the pill reduced their already debased hazard of hospitalization and death. That survey included those who were vaccinated and had astatine slightest 1 hazard origin for terrible COVID.

Still, the Pfizer and Merck pills bash person immoderate limitations.

The Merck pill, molnupiravir, has raised concerns astir its imaginable to origin mutations — either successful the radical who instrumentality the pill oregon successful the microorganism itself. Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration narrowly voted successful precocious November to urge that molnupiravir person exigency usage authorization, but it is apt the cause volition transportation recommendations that it not beryllium utilized during pregnancy.

Meanwhile, Pfizer's pill contains a medication, ritonavir, that tin interact with galore commonly taken medicines, and those risks whitethorn request to beryllium managed by physicians and pharmacists.