The final data for the clinical trials of the Pfizer COVID-19 pill showed an 89 percent efficacy rate in cutting the risks of patients against hospitalization or death from the virus.
The drugmaker hopes that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will grant an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer COVID-19 pill in treating high-risk patients as soon as their symptoms manifest. Eventually, the goal is for the pill to be commercially available under the brand name Paxlovid. Those infected with the virus could take the medication as a home care treatment.
Chief scientific officer Mikael Dolsten said their trials brought back a "stunning outcome" that could save lives and prevent thousands of hospitalizations, which will also cut down transmissions.
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How Does the Pfizer COVID-19 Pill Work?
In November, Pfizer submitted the data of their clinical trials for Paxlovid, which is also administered with two other drugs -- ritonavir, an old antiviral drug for treating HIV patients, and nirmatrelvir, a new antiviral drug. Some 1,200 patients received the medications for the first phase of the trial, and an additional 1,000 patients were also treated with Paxlovid and the combination medications in the follow-up phase.
According to the researchers, none of the high-risk patients who took the pills died while battling the virus, while 12 patients under the placebo group succumbed to the disease. The experts noted that the Pfizer COVID-19 pill had proven to be effective if the patient takes it every 12 hours, or twice a day, for at least five days.
Paxlovid stops the virus from replicating and will work best if given within three days of the onset of the symptoms. Those in the trial reported mild and insignificant side effects, but Pfizer did not provide the details.
Dolsten is confident that they will not have to undergo an advisory panel deliberation for this pill, unlike with the approval for the vaccines. He also said that they are in "advanced regulatory dialogues" with governments in Europe to distribute the medication as soon as possible.
Currently, antiviral treatments for COVID-19 are done through IV or injection. The FDA has not approved similar treatments in pill form.
COVID-19 Will Be Here Forever
The news comes as NBC News medical correspondent Dr. John Torres said that COVID-19 would be a permanent part of every person's life. It also comes as the latest COVID-19 variant, Omicron, has been reported as highly transmissible than Delta.
Torres said that it only takes Omicron less than three days to be highly transmissible compared to Delta, which takes less than six days. However, Omicron is believed to trigger mild symptoms, but this is still a great cause for concern because more people will likely catch and spread the virus and then impact the most vulnerable people.
"This is going to turn into what we call an endemic virus, which means the virus is always going to be here," the doctor said. But he also emphasized that there are treatments developed, such as the vaccine and the pills.
Meanwhile, Merck is also developing a COVID-19 antiviral pill apart from Pfizer. Preliminary findings show that their product could be less effective than Paxlovoid. Further studies will likely follow to determine the efficacy of the medications among children.
