Pfizer, a US pharmaceutical company, announced on the 5th (local time) the results of a clinical trial that the COVID-19 drug it is developing is very effective in preventing serious illnesses, including hospitalizations and death. This is the second time since the lightnupiravir of the multinational pharmaceutical company Merck & Company (MSD) announces the results of clinical trials of a drug for the treatment of COVID-19. According to local media outlets such as Reuters and The New York Times (NYT), Pfizer said in a press release the same day: “Antiviral pill formulation has been found to reduce the risk of infection if administered within three days of onset of symptoms. It also reduces hospitalization or death by 89%, ”it was reported. This oral COVID-19 drug, which is slated to be called Paxloid, is three pills twice daily and is taken with ritonavir, a medicine for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Researchers measured the drug’s effects on 1,219 COVID-19 patients. The subjects were patients with mild or severe severity with one or more factors for the development of serious diseases, such as obesity or old age.
The treatment group were administered the drug and the placebo group for 5 days. As a result, as a result of treatment within 3 days of the onset of symptoms, 0.8% of patients were hospitalized and no one died within 28 days of treatment. During the same period, the hospitalization rate of patients receiving placebo was 7% with 7 recorded deaths. The trial revealed similar results when administered within 5 days of the onset of symptoms. In the treatment group, the hospitalization rate was 1% and there were no deaths, while in the placebo group, the hospitalization rate was 6.7% and 10 deaths. As a result, Pfizer said that after taking the drug for 5 consecutive days, the risk of developing serious illness and hospitalization or death decreased 89% compared to the placebo group after one month.
Pfizer Program Director Anellies Andelson said: “The drug was validated five days after the patient was treated,” he said. However, there were no specific explanations such as symptoms and ease, except that side effects of treatment were observed in about 20% of participants in both groups, respectively. “Because the trial results showed that the treatment was very effective, the advisory group recommended that the trial be stopped early,” Pfizer said. Reuters reported that the announcement of Pfizer’s clinical trial results “surpasses the previously reported efficacy of molnupiravir.” It was announced last month by Merck that the clinical trial results indicated molnupiravir could reduce hospital admissions and death from COVID-19 by half.. Merck has filed an FDA approval for lightnupiravir and is scheduled to meet with reviewers later this month. On April 4, the UK approved the use of lightnupiravir for the first time in the world.