An interim analysis of test results showed that the drug, called paxlovid, reduced the risk of hospitalizations and deaths by 89 percent in Covid 19 patients, Pfizer announced Friday. That was true for treatments within three days of the first Covid 19 symptoms, it said, adding that similar values were seen for treatments within five days.
To be filed soon
Pfizer spoke of the “overwhelming efficacy” these results showed. The company now plans to submit the data for emergency approval to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as soon as possible. If approved, the oral antiviral drug has the potential to “save patients’ lives, reduce the severity of covid-19 infections and prevent up to nine out of 10 hospitalizations.”
First drug approved in the U.K.
The U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on Thursday approved a tablet to treat covid-19 for the first time. Pharmaceutical company Merck’s antiviral Lagevrio (also known as Molnupiravir) is safe and effective in reducing the risk of hospitalizations and deaths in Covid-19 patients with mild and moderate courses, a U.K. government statement said. It is the world’s first approved oral antiviral against covid-19, it said.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) had announced in late October that it would review the use of molnupiravir. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also initiated an approval process for the drug. The EMA is also reviewing seven other potential coronavirus drugs.
- source: orf.at/picture:gds.ru
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