Topline
Pfizer is looking into an oral antiviral drug to prevent Covid-19 infection in patients who have been exposed to the virus. The announcement was made Monday by the company. This comes as scientists from around the globe work to create new tools to combat the virus and reduce the burden on hospitals.
Pfizer is currently testing an oral medication to prevent Covid-19 from being absorbed after exposure. getty
The Key Facts
Pfizer announced that it will launch a clinical trial in mid-to-late stage to determine if the antiviral drug PF-07321332 can prevent Covid-19 in approximately 2,660 healthy people living in the same home as someone with a confirmed symptomatic condition. The safety and effectiveness of the pill with ritonavir will be tested in the trial. This antiviral is widely used to treat HIV. A placebo will be given to one third of the patients, and the rest will receive the drug twice daily for five or ten days. Pfizer stated that early results from the trial showed that the pill was well tolerated and safe.
Important Background
There are many effective and safe vaccines that can prevent Covid-19 from happening, but there are very few drugs available to treat people who have been exposed or contracted the virus. The few vaccines we have, such as corticosteroids, target the body's response to infection. Monoclonal antibodies, like Regeneron, are expensive and must be given intravenously in hospitals. Oral therapy can help remove many of these barriers and keep patients out of the hospital.
Important Quote
Chief scientific officer at Pfizers research & development division Dr. Mikael Didlsten stated that to combat the virus, treatments will be needed that are complementary vaccines. Dolsten stated that such a therapy could prevent symptomatic disease from those already infected and slow down the spread of the virus to others.
What to Watch
Pfizer is also testing this antiviral combination to treat Covid-19. Merck, a Swiss pharmaceutical company, is also testing an antiviral tablet for Covid-19, molnupiravir. They expect data from the late-stage clinical trials to be available by the end.
Tangent
The development of nasal and oral Covid-19 vaccines is also underway. In addition to reducing equipment and needle fear, as well as concerns about blood-borne diseases, needle-free vaccines could help remove many of the obstacles that prevent widespread immunization across the globe. They are easier to store and transport, and they are less likely to require the ultracold temperatures Modernas and Pfizer shots.
Continue reading
Antiviral pill: Are we close to developing a drug that can treat Covid? (Financial Times)
The New Oral Protease inhibitor by Pfizers could possibly treat and prevent Covid-19 (Forbes).
Trials of Oral Covid Vaccine in Israel to Begin (Forbes).
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