The anti-covid pill developed by pharmaceutical company Pfizer has proven to be 89% effective in preventing hospitalisation or death from the Covid-19 coronavirus, the company announced on Friday.
The results of clinical trials have been positive and the company has said it will provide the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with further data "as soon as possible", with a view to the organisation authorising the pills, Belga News Agency reported.
This is the second pill treatment to show positive results after the pills developed by Merck were authorised on Thursday for use in the UK – the first state to approve their use.
The antiviral pills work by reducing the capacity of the virus to replicate and they are easy to administer. They would be another powerful tool to use alongside vaccines to tackle the pandemic.
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The results follow clinical trials in over 1,200 adults who had contracted the Covid-19 virus and were at risk of developing serious symptoms. Some days after contracting the virus, some participants received the Pfizer pill whilst others were given a placebo.
The trial will continue to include 3,000 participants although Pfizer has said that the present results already show "an unequivocal effectiveness."
In the press release, Company CEO Albert Bourla celebrated the results, stating that the pills could be a "game-changer in the global effort to stop the damage wreaked by the pandemic." He added that, if approved by the FDA, the pills have the potential to "save the lives of patients, reduce Covid-19 infections, and avoid nine in ten hospitalisations."
The pills will be sold under the name 'Paxlovid'.
