Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) has announced that its COVID-19 pill has been found to cut the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% in high-risk adults who’ve been exposed to the virus.
It’s now the second antiviral pill behind Merck’s (NYSE:MRK) to demonstrate strong effectiveness for treating COVID-19 at the first sign of illness. Pfizer said it plans to submit its data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) "as soon as possible."
Pfizer’s pill, scientifically known as PF-07321332, is part of a class of medicines called protease inhibitors and works by inhibiting an enzyme the virus needs to replicate in human cells. Protease inhibitors are used to treat other viral pathogens such as HIV and hepatitis C.
The company said its data on the drug is based on a mid-to-late-stage study of 1,219 adults who had at least one underlying medical condition and a laboratory-confirmed infection within a five-day period. Participants were also given a low dose of Ritonavir, a medication commonly used in combination treatments for HIV.
Merck said in October that it has developed a drug that, when administered alone, reduces the risk of hospitalization or death by around 50% for patients with mild or moderate cases of COVID-19.
The antiviral pill made by Merck was approved in Britain earlier this week. Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said that Merck’s pill will greatly help in the treatment of COVID-19, a disease that has killed more than five million people globally.
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