The Food and Drug Administration has now approved the use of Pfizer's COVID-19 antiviral pill, Paxlovid, to treat the novel coronavirus.?
Also Read:?Pfizer Claims Its Anti-Covid Pill Cuts Death Risk By 89 Percent
This is the first-ever pill, to be approved for treating the novel coronavirus, that can be taken by patients at home.
The pill can be taken by high-risk individuals over the age of 12 who weigh at least 88 pounds (40 kilograms) and have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. However, the drug can only be consumed upon prescription by a doctor.?
As per FDA's statement, the pill should be consumed as soon as COVID-19 is diagnosed and within five days of the onset of symptoms.?
The drug is the combination of a new antiviral drug dubbed nirmatrelvir and an older antiviral dubbed ritonavir and is administered as three pills given twice a day for a five-day course.?
Also Read:?World's First Pill Ready To Treat COVID-19, As Merck Seeks Emergency Approval
Trial results that were revealed last week showed the drug cut the risk of hospitalisation or death by 89 percent if given to the high-risk adult within a few days of their first symptoms. When given within the first five days of symptoms, the efficacy was around 88 percent.?
Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement,"Today's authorization of PAXLOVID represents another tremendous example of how science will help us ultimately defeat this pandemic, which, even two years in, continues to disrupt and devastate lives across the world.¡±
He added, ¡°This breakthrough therapy, which has been shown to significantly reduce hospitalizations and deaths and can be taken at home, will change the way we treat COVID-19, and hopefully help reduce some of the significant pressures facing our healthcare and hospital systems."
Also Read:?World's First Anti-Covid Pill Treatment Approved In UK, Cuts Death Risk By Half
There is no tentative timeline for the pill to arrive in India yet. However, if it had to come to India, it would have to go through approvals from the ICMR and other bodies in India, after an extensive trial, which could probably take a few months for completion and jumping through bureaucratic loopholes to finally hit the shelves. Another barrier that could delay its arrival would be production shortage based on demand within the US as well as globally.
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