Pfizer says its new antiviral pill cuts risk of severe COVID-19 by 89%

Experimental Pfizer pill prevents Covid hospitalizations and deaths - STAT An experimental antiviral pill from Pfizer reduced Covid patients' risk of death and hospitalization by 89% in a large study. Matthew Herper STAT

An experimental antiviral pill developed by Pfizer reduced the risk of death and hospitalization by 89% in patients who were newly diagnosed with Covid-19 in a large study, the company said Friday.

The development of oral medicines that can be used to treat Covid early on could blunt the impact of the pandemic.

Nahid Bhadelia, the founding director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Policy & Research at Boston University, called oral antiviral pills “incredibly important” because existing treatments such as monoclonal antibodies must be given intravenously or as shots. ...

The Pfizer result is the second success for an oral pill that prevents Covid patients from becoming hospitalized or dying. Merck and partner Ridgeback Therapeutics announced Oct. 1 that their pill, molnupiravir, reduced hospitalization and death by 50%. That pill also prevented death, and was granted conditional approval Thursday by the United Kingdom’s top medical regulators. ...