-Angelot Ndongmo-
Cousins!
Pfizer Inc. has officially confirmed the first at-home treatment for coronavirus has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, in the form of an antiviral Covid-19 pill!
They expect it to become a main go-to source, for stopping the Omicron variant in its fast-spreading tracks.
CNBC shared that the director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni, said in a statement: “Today’s authorization introduces the first treatment for COVID-19, that is in the form of a pill that is taken orally — a major step forward in the fight against this global pandemic. This authorization provides a new tool to combat COVID-19, at a crucial time in the pandemic as new variants emerge and promises to make antiviral treatment more accessible to patients who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19.”
The company has a US government contract for 10 million courses with a price tag of $530 per course. They have estimated their need to increase production for 2022 from 80m courses to 120m and they are ready to start delivering the pills into the USA the moment they get authorization to disperse them.
The new antiviral pill will be taken with the older antiviral one called ritonavir and be sold under the brand name Paxlovid.
Pfizer lab data shows a 90% efficacy rate in a patient’s ability, to avoid hospitalization and deaths in those who are deemed high risk for severe illness, the Guardian reported. It’s holding up against Omicron and maintaining its effectiveness as per the data.
The new drug is going to be made available specifically for those who are not yet hospitalized but are at high-risk, who if infected by COVID-19 may not survive or maybe admitted (adult or pediatric patients, or 12+ years of age). This emergency authorized pill will be taken every 12 hours for five days the moment any symptoms present themselves. Pfizer’s goal is to have full regulatory approval by the FDA in 2022.
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