Pfizer's antiviral COVID-19 pill appears to protect people from severe Covid symptoms caused by the Omicron variant, the company annou...
Pfizer's antiviral COVID-19 pill appears to protect people from severe Covid symptoms caused by the Omicron variant, the company announced on Tuesday.
The pharmaceutical study found that the pill, named Paxlovid, reduces risk of hospitalization and death from Covid by about 90 percent among patients who are at high risk for severe symptoms, confirming previous findings.
Those results are related to tests carried out against infections caused by other strains of Covid, including the Delta variant.
But on Tuesday, the company also announced that its antiviral pill, which can be taken at home, seems to work just as well against the Omicron strain.
Pfizer scientists put Paxlovid through lab tests, testing it against a man-made version of a key protein that Omicron uses to reproduce itself, with the drug able to block the newest form of the virus from multiplying. Further evaluations are underway to establish just how effective Paxlovid is at preventing Omicron infection.
Paxlovid works by blocking the coronavirus' ability to multiply in patients' bodies.
Pfizer's experimental Covid pill is effective against the Omicron variant and continues to perform well at preventing severe disease, the company said Tuesday. Pictured: Pfizer's pills, in an image provided by Pfizer in November 2021 (file image)
The news comes as the U.S. experiences a massive Covid surge, with an average of 120,000 cases reported each day and increases in hospitalizations and deaths.
Total US cases have now passed 50.1 million, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, while total deaths sit close to 799,000.
While the Delta variant is driving the current surge, the Omicron variant has been identified throughout the country and is now causing about three percent of cases nationwide, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data.
A total of 189 cases have been identified across 33 states, although just one in five positive PCR tests is sequenced in the US, meaning the true size of the outbreak is likely much larger.
Omicron is now the dominant strain of Covid across the United Kingdom, and is expected to follow suit in the US within weeks.
A White House source told Axios Tuesday that a 'large wave' of the virus is expected to hit US shores soon.
Preliminary data suggests Omicron is less dangerous than Delta, but its sheer infectiousness means it is inevitable that hospitalizations and deaths will creep up, experts have warned.
Pfizer's antiviral pill, along with a similar pill from Merck, may be useful in preventing severe cases during this surge. But vaccination - including booster shots - is still the best protection, experts say.
The Pfizer news comes as Covid cases increase rapidly across the U.S., driven by the Delta variant, cold weather, and increased indoor gatherings
As Covid cases increase once again in the U.S., and around the world, antiviral drugs may become a key tool for reducing severe disease in people who become infected.
In the coming weeks, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is likely to authorize a drug made by Pfizer for use in the U.S., adding it to the country's arsenal.
Experts anticipated that Pfizer's drug would work against Omicron - as would Merck's - because the drug does not target the coronavirus' spike protein, which contains most of the new variant´s mutations.
Also on Tuesday, Pfizer announced full results of its clinical trial on the drug's effectiveness for patients at high risk of severe Covid symptoms.
The drug reduced combined hospitalizations and deaths by about 89 percent among high-risk adults, Pfizer's trial showed.
This clinical trial included 2,250 patients, most of whom were over age 60 or had other medical conditions that increased their risk of severe Covid.
Pfizer's drug is most effective when patients begin treatment within five days of their initial symptoms. Patients take three pills twice a day for five days.
A similar pill made by Merck has not demonstrated as much success in clinical trials - Merck's pill only reduced risk of hospitalization and death by 30 percent in high-risk adults.
Still, the FDA's vaccine advisory committee voted to recommend Merck's pill for authorization.
Unlike past Covid treatments, both Merck's and Pfizer's pills could be picked up from pharmacies and taken at home - rather than requiring treatment in a medical setting.
The agency is currently reviewing data on Pfizer's pill, and is expected to discuss its authorization in the coming weeks.
The FDA is currently reviewing data on Pfizer's Covid pill, and is expected to discuss its authorization soon. Pictured: The pill is packaged in Germany, November 2021
Pfizer is also studying its pill in lower-risk adults, including healthy unvaccinated adults and those who are vaccinated but have one or more preexisting health conditions.
In interim results reported Tuesday, Pfizer said the drug failed to meet its main study goal of sustained relief from Covid symptoms.
Still, the drug reduced hospitalizations by about 70 percent among the lower-risk patients, Pfizer's analysis found.
An independent board of medical experts reviewed the data and recommended Pfizer continue the low-risk patient study for further results.
Across both of Pfizer's studies, adults taking the company's drug had a 10-fold decrease in virus levels compared with those on placebo.
Pfizer's announcement comes as the U.S. faces a new surge in Covid cases, with more than 120,000 new cases reported daily in the last week, according to data from Johns Hopkins.
Covid hospitalizations and deaths are also rising in the U.S.
About 54,300 patients are currently hospitalized with Covid across the country, as of December 11 - up from 51,600 the prior week.
More than 1,200 Americans have died of Covid each day in the past week, and the pandemic's total death toll nears 800,000.
In parts of the Northeast and Midwest, many hospitals are once again being overloaded by incoming virus cases.
This latest surge is primarily driven by the Delta variant, combined with colder weather and more indoor gatherings during the holiday season.
Omicron (purple) has increased from causing 0.4% of U.S. Covid cases in the week ending December 4 to causing 2.9% of cases in the week ending December 11
Yet the Omicron variant is also spreading rapidly across the country.
According to CDC estimates released Tuesday, the variant caused 2.9 percent of Covid cases nationally in the week ending December 11.
That's a six-fold increase from the previous week, when it caused 0.4 percent of new cases.
Omicron is even more entrenched in some parts of the country. In the New York and New Jersey region, it's causing 13 percent of new cases, the CDC estimates.
As Omicron contributes further to case increases, the Pfizer and Merck pills will be useful tools for reducing severe disease and hospitalizations.
But the best way for people to protect themselves against Covid is to get vaccinated and get a booster shot, said CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky, appearing on NBC's 'Today' on Tuesday.
She said the Pfizer pill, if authorized by the FDA, 'will be another great tool, but we need to diagnose people early.'
The U.S. government has agreed to purchase enough of Pfizer's drug to treat 10 million people and enough of Merck's to treat 3 million, pending FDA authorization.
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