Pharmaceutical company Pfizer, which made its name with the first coronavirus vaccine developed together with BioNTech, announced that it has developed a COVID-19 pill this time. The company published the first trial results today. The antiviral pill, the second of its kind, reduced hospitalization and death rates by nearly 90 percent in at-risk patients with mild to moderate infections. Here are all the details of the study…
Pfizer says “90 percent effective” for COVID-19 pill
The US-based pharmaceutical company announced that the pill it developed is a priority, especially for the elderly and those with health problems. The announcement of the drug called ‘Paxlovid’ came right after the coronavirus drug that pharmaceutical company Merck announced last month. A drug developed by Merck has halved the rate of death or hospitalization in patients at high risk of serious illness.
(Photo: UPI)
Pfizer has announced the details of its COVID-19 pill trials. The study was conducted on 775 unvaccinated people with mild to moderate illness. Patients had at least one risk factor for developing serious disease, such as obesity or advanced age. Treatment began within three to five days of the onset of symptoms and lasted for five days.
The researchers found that only 0.8 percent of people given the pill were hospitalized within three days of symptoms starting. None had died 28 days after treatment. In addition, seven percent of patients in the placebo group were hospitalized. Seven people in the placebo group died.
The rate was similar in patients treated with the Pfizer COVID-19 pill within five days of symptoms onset. Only 1 percent of those in Pfizer’s treatment group were hospitalized. In contrast, 10 people in the placebo group died.
Pfizer did not disclose side effects
Pharmaceutical company Pfizer said: “We demonstrate that our oral antiviral drug candidate, if approved by regulatory authorities, has the potential to save patients’ lives, reduce the severity of COVID-19 infections and prevent nine out of 10 hospitalizations. ” said.
Pfizer has yet to disclose any side effects for the COVID-19 pill. However, side effects were seen in about 20 percent of the treatment and placebo patients. However, because the drug was not given alone in the Pfizer trial in question, the company said these side effects could be caused by the other drug.
If approved, a three-pill twice-daily treatment could be beneficial in countries with low immunization rates. In addition, Pfizer discontinued the work on the advice of an independent expert group, due to the positive results of the trials.
The company will apply for approval to international drug regulators, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Meanwhile, the UK has already ordered 250,000 therapeutic doses.
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