Pfizer announced on Tuesday that the results of the final analysis showed that its antiviral pill is up to 90% effective in preventing hospitalization and preventing coronavirus deaths in patients belonging to “high-risk” groups, while according to the latest laboratory drug also maintains its effectiveness against Homicron mutation.
The U.S. pharmaceutical company announced last month that its pill was about 89% effective in preventing hospitalization and preventing death compared to placebo, based on an interim trial of about 1,200 people. The figures released on Tuesday include an additional 1,000 people.
None of those receiving Pfizer treatment died, while 12 of those who received placebo died.
The Pfizer pill is taken with the older ritonavir antiviral every 12 hours for five days starting treatment as soon as the first symptoms appear. Once approved, the pill will be sold under the Paxlovid brand.
Pfizer also released preliminary data from a second clinical trial showing that treatment reduced hospitalizations by up to 70% in about 600 mid-risk adults.
“This is an amazing result,” Mikael Dolsten, Pfizer’s chief scientific officer, said in an interview.
“We are talking about a shocking number of lives saved and hospitalizations prevented,” Dolsten said.
Dolsten said he was waiting for approval for use in high-risk individuals by the US Food and Drug Administration and other regulators. He does not believe that a meeting of the FDA Advisory Committee will be needed.
“We are in advanced discussions with both the EU and the UK as well as with the most important regulators in the world,” Dolsten said.
Dolsten said recent laboratory tests had shown that the activity against the Omicron mutation was as “good as any other disturbing variant of the virus”.
The company said it may have 180,000 treatments ready for shipment this year and plans to produce at least another 80 million by 2022.
Dolsten said Pfizer was looking to expand its production further, as new variants, such as Omicron, could increase the need for antiviral drugs.
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Source From: Capital
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