Pfizer is seeking US regulatory approval for its Covid-19 pill which, it says, reduces hospitalisations and deaths in high-risk patients by 89%.
05 November 2021 - 13:45Pfizer said its Covid-19 pill reduced hospitalisations and deaths in high-risk patients by 89%, a result that has the potential to upend how the disease caused by the coronavirus is treated and alter the course of the pandemic.
In Pfizer’s trial of 1,219 unvaccinated adults, five days of treatment with its drug dramatically reduced the rate of hospitalisation when it was started within either three days or five days of symptom onset, the company said. The drug, Paxlovid, binds to an enzyme called a protease to stop the virus from replicating itself. Some drugs for HIV work in a similar way.
The need for a pill is so acute that Merck has already agreed to allow generic drugmakers to apply for licenses to make its treatment for more than 100 low- and middle-income nations, before it has even been cleared in the US. The UK’s drug regulators became the first in the world to greenlight Merck’s drug on Thursday after a swift review.
In addition to the current trial in high-risk patients, Pfizer is also testing the drug in standard-risk patients, a study that included some vaccinated people who had breakthrough infections.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Pfizer says Covid pill 89% effective against severe diseasePfizer said Friday that a clinical trial of its pill to treat Covid-19 had shown it is highly effective, hailing it is as a big step towards ending the pandemic.
Read more »
Pfizer says COVID pill 89% effective against severe diseaseThe Pfizer drug called Paxlovid achieved an 89 percent reduction in risk of hospitalization or death among adult patients with Covid who are at high risk of progressing to severe illness, the US company said.
Read more »
Gains in US jobs beat October’s estimatesThe unemployment rate fell to 4.6% while the labour force participation rate was unchanged
Read more »
US Supreme Court conservatives take aim at New York gun limitsConservative US Supreme Court justices on Wednesday appeared ready to shoot down New York state's limits on carrying concealed handguns in public in a major gun rights case that could imperil various firearms restrictions nationally.
Read more »
Asian markets struggle to track Wall St rally, eyes on US jobsAsian markets were mixed Friday following the previous day's gains, with eyes on the release of key US jobs data later in the day, while investors are also assessing the outlook for central bank monetary policy in the face of surging inflation.
Read more »
US judge sets January hearing for Prince Andrew sex assault caseThe Duke of York, 61, has been under increasing pressure since August when Virginia Giuffre, 38, filed a complaint in Manhattan federal court accusing Queen Elizabeth's second son of sexual assault when she was a minor over 20 years ago.
Read more »