By Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
The pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced Tuesday that its oral antiviral against COVID-19, "Paxlovid", helps prevent severe symptoms of the disease.
It reduces the risk of hospitalization and death by up to 89 percent when administered within the first three days of symptomatology, and 88 percent in the first five days.
The results are part of phase two of the study on this drug, which included 2,246 adults, and whose conclusions, he said, are consistent with the interim analysis announced in November 2021, so they have been notified to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (FDA, for its acronym in English) as part of ongoing work for emergency use authorization.
"This news provides further corroboration that our oral antiviral candidate, if licensed or approved, could have a significant impact on the lives of many, as the data further support PAXLOVID's efficacy in reducing hospitalization and death, and show a substantial decrease in viral load. This underscores the life-saving potential of the treatment for patients around the world," said Albert Bourla, President and CEO of Pfizer.
Through a statement issued by the pharmaceutical company, it detailed that emerging variants of concern, such as Omicron, have increased the need for accessible treatment options for those who contract the virus, "and we are confident that, if authorized or approved, this treatment could be a critical tool to help quell the pandemic.
Pfizer notes that 0.7 percent of patients who received Paxlovid ? consisting of nirmatrelvir tablets and ritonavir tablets ? were hospitalized within 28 days of the start of the trial and none died. However, 6.5 percent of those who received a placebo were hospitalized or died.
In addition, the drugmaker released preliminary data from a trial that looked at people at lower risk. This group - 662 volunteers - included vaccinated people with a risk factor for severe disease, as well as unvaccinated patients with no risk factors.
In them, the company said, Paxlovid reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by 70 percent,
Pfizer also said its antiviral pill worked in lab studies against Omicron, a variant of concern that is on the rise in South Africa and Europe and is expected to dominate cases in the United States in the coming weeks.
Paxlovid is an investigational SARS-CoV-2 protease inhibitor antiviral therapy. It was developed to be administered orally so that, if licensed or approved, it can be prescribed at the first sign of infection or at the first knowledge of an exposure, which could help patients avoid severe illness - which can lead to hospitalization and death - or prevent development of disease after contact with a household member who contracts COVID-19.
The pill is designed to block the activity of SARS-CoV-2-3CL protease, an enzyme that the coronavirus needs to replicate.
Nirmatrelvir, one of the pills included in the drug, has demonstrated consistent antiviral activity against previously identified variants of concern, such as alpha, beta, delta, gamma, lambda and mu, in addition to potently inhibiting Omicron, the document states.
If licensed or approved, PAXLOVID will be administered at a dose of 300 micrograms - two 150-microgram tablets - of nirmatrelvir with one 100-microgram tablet of ritonavir, given twice daily for five days.
One box contains five blister packs of PAXLOVID, as nirmatrelvir tablets co-packed with ritonavir tablets, providing all the doses needed for a full five-day course of treatment.
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