Pfizer coronavirus reduces risk of hospitalization or death by 89%

Pfizer pill against Covid-19 in combination with anti-HIV drug reduces the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% in high-risk adults exposed to the virus, the pharmaceutical company announced on Friday.

At the same time, he noted that he is expected to submit the findings to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency approval “as soon as possible”.

This is a very positive development in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, as a pill that one could take home with the onset of symptoms is an important ally in the fight against Covid-19 worldwide, provided that it is widely available, notes Bloomberg, which quoted a Pfizer spokesman as saying the company would apply to other agencies after the request was made in the United States.

Burla: Day of Pride

“Today is a day of pride for Pfizer. A day that demonstrates the power of science and the ability of our scientists to rapidly develop a good for the benefit of humanity,” Albert Burla, the company’s chief executive, wrote in a Twitter post.

“Today’s news is really remarkable and suggests that our candidate oral antiviral drug, if approved by regulators, has the potential to change the game, saving lives, reducing the severity of Covid-19 infections and preventing “nine out of ten hospitalizations,” the Pfizer chief added in a statement.

Today is a proud day for @Pfizer. A day when the power of our science and our scientists’ ability to rapidly advance a homegrown asset for the benefit of humankind is on full display.

Here is a quick thread:

— Albert Bourla (@AlbertBourla) November 5, 2021

What the clinical study showed

According to a Pfizer clinical study involving 1,219 unvaccinated adults, five days after treatment with the drug, a significant reduction in the hospitalization rate was recorded, in cases administered within 3 to 5 days of the onset of symptoms.

The drug, called Paxlovid, is incorporated into an enzyme called protease to stop the virus from reproducing. It is taken twice a day for five days and is given in combination with a second medicine, rotinavir, which helps keep the Pfizer formulation in the body for a longer period of time.

In particular, according to Pfizer, of the total study participants, only 0.8% who started treatment within three days of the onset of symptoms ended up being treated, and none of them died. In contrast, 7% of participants who received placebo during the same period later had to be hospitalized or died. The results were similar in participants who received treatment within five days of the onset of Covid-19 symptoms.

These particularly positive results led the company to stop accepting new entrants to the study and to submit the data to the US Drug Regulatory Authority.

Meanwhile, in addition to the current clinical trial in high-risk patients, Pfizer is performing structural drug therapy on patients at normal risk with Covid-19, including vaccinated patients infected with coronavirus. Finally, the pharmaceutical industry is conducting a third major clinical trial to determine if the drug could be used as a preventative treatment to prevent Covid-19 disease, with participants living with people with coronavirus disease.

A spokesman for the pharmaceutical industry said Pfizer estimated that it could produce more than 180,000 packages of the drug by the end of this year and estimated that production would reach 50 million by the end of next year, of which 21 million will be produced within the first half of 2022.

Merck pill

It is recalled that yesterday Britain became the first country in the world to approve the antiviral pill against Covid-19, which was jointly developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. The British Medicines and Drugs Regulatory Authority (MHRA) has recommended that this medicine, which contains the active substance molnupiravir, be used as soon as possible after diagnosing a patient with covid-19 and within five days of the onset of symptoms. .

Pfizer shares rose 11 percent in pre-conference trading, with Merck shares down 6.6%. Shares of companies that make coronavirus vaccines also fell, with Moderna falling 4.5% and BioNTech falling 4% on the German stock market.