Pfizer’s Covid-19 pill, which is up for FDA authorization, worked against Omicron in lab tests, the company said. A final analysis of a key study also confirmed the drug was 89% effective in high-risk adults.
Pfizer also said Tuesday that a final analysis of late-stage study results confirmed the drug, named Paxlovid, was 89% effective at reducing the risk of hospitalization and death in adults at high risk of severe Covid-19.
Meanwhile, a separate, preliminary analysis provided signs the drug may help people at low risk of severe Covid-19, such as vaccinated individuals who end up becoming sick. Both studies testing Paxlovid in people showed that the amount of virus, or viral load, in subjects who received the drug was significantly less than in the placebo groups, Pfizer said.
That is different from Covid-19 vaccines and some treatments that target a different part of the virus, the spike protein, that is the site of manyThe early Pfizer laboratory tests showed that Paxlovid blocked the protease enzyme in Omicron, as well as other variants of concern, Dr. Dolsten said.
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