China’s medical products regulator said on Saturday that it has granted conditional approval to Pfizer’s Covid-19 drug Paxlovid, making it the first oral pill developed specifically to treat the disease to be authorized in the country. .
The National Medical Devices Administration said Paxlovid is approved to treat adults with mild to moderate Covid-19 who are at high risk of progressing to a serious condition.
A more in-depth study of the medication needs to be carried out and submitted to the authority, the body said.
It’s not immediately clear whether China is already in talks with Pfizer to buy the pill.
“This is an important milestone in our fight against Covid-19,” a Pfizer representative said in a statement, without providing purchase information.
The approval is a boost for Pfizer, which expects $22 billion in sales of this treatment in 2022.
Pfizer executives said the company is in active discussions with more than 100 countries about Paxlovid and has the capacity to provide 120 million treatments if needed.
While several vaccines are available around the world to help prevent infections and serious illness, including one made by Pfizer, there are limited treatment options for people already infected with Covid-19.
In December, Pfizer said the final results of the study showed its treatment reduced the chance of hospitalization or death by 89% in Covid-19 patients at risk of serious illness, given treatment within three days of symptom onset. , and in 88% when administered over five days
The United States is paying about $530 for each kit of pills needed for a Paxlovid treatment and $700 for each course of molnupiravir, a rival pill developed by MSD.
China has yet to approve any Covid-19 vaccines developed by foreign manufacturers, but it has vaccinated 87.1% of its entire population as of Feb 7 using various domestically developed vaccines.
Source: CNN Brasil
