2021.12.23
FDA green lights Pfizer's antiviral COVID-19 pill,
een as possible game-changer for pandemic
Kim Hyo-sun, Arirang News - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized Pfizer's antiviral COVID-19 pill, making it the first oral treatment that can be taken at home to fight the virus. Data from the drugmaker's clinical trial shows its two-drug antiviral regimen was 90 percent effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths among patients with a high risk of severe illness.
Lab data also suggests the
treatment is effective against the Omicron variant. U.S. drug regulators
authorized the oral drug for the treatment of adults and pediatric COVID-19
patients at least 12 years of age, outside of hospital settings. The pills are
to be taken every 12 hours for five days beginning shortly after the onset of
symptoms.
Pfizer says it's ready to begin
immediate delivery of the drug, which will be sold under the brand name,
Paxlovid. The company adds it has raised its production projections for next year
to 120 million courses from the original 80 million. South Korea's Ministry of
Food and Drug Safety also said Wednesday that it has begun reviewing emergency
approval of Paxlovid.
If authorized, Paxlovid, seen
by many experts as a possible game-changer in the fight against the pandemic,
would be the first oral antiviral of its kind in South Korea.