The most up-to-date data from Pfizer on its experimental treatment with a pill against Covid-19 showed that the drug reduced the risk of hospitalization or death from the disease by 89% if given to adults in risk groups a few days after their first symptoms, he announced. the company in a press release this Tuesday (14).
Pfizer hopes to eventually be able to offer the pills, called Paxlovid, for people to take at home before they get sick enough to need to go to the hospital.
Paxlovid is made up of a mixture of a new antiviral medicine called nirmatrelvir and an older one called ritonavir.
After a month of monitoring the volunteers, the study reported five hospitalizations and no deaths among 697 people who received the drug within the first three days of symptoms.
Among 682 who received placebo, 44 were hospitalized, including 9 who died.
All adults in this study were not vaccinated against Covid-19.
The effectiveness was similar in another group, which underwent another trial period. Administered within the first five days of symptoms, the pill was 88% effective.
The research also showed “an approximately 10-fold decrease in viral load on the fifth day compared to placebo,” the statement said.
“This underscores the potential of this treatment candidate to save the lives of patients around the world, whether they have been vaccinated or not,” Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Variants of concern, such as Ômicron, have exacerbated the need for affordable treatment options for those who contract the virus, and we are confident that, if authorized or approved, this potential treatment can be a critical tool to help contain the pandemic” , complemented the CEO.
The company says it hopes the drug will be able to contain the activity of variants such as Ômicron – and it seems so, in laboratory tests – because the drug blocks an enzyme involved in the virus’s replication. This is unlike the spike protein on the surface of the virus, whose numerous mutations have heightened global concern around the variant.
Pfizer announced that it has shared this latest data with the US regulatory agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as part of a continuous data submission process for emergency use authorization.
“The complete study data are expected to be released by the end of this month and be submitted for publication [em revista científica] peer-reviewed,” added the Pfizer statement.
No date for data analysis has been set by the FDA’s advisory committee, which will evaluate the treatment.
* Translated material. Read the original here.
Reference: CNN Brasil
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