Pfizer's Antiviral Pill Prevents Severe COVID-19 in Phase 2 of Clinical Trials

Pfizer, the company that developed one of the first RNA COVID-19 vaccines, has developed an experimental antiviral pill meant to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication, effectively preventing severe COVID and hospitalization, has recently shown outsounding efficacy in first data from large Phase 2 clinical trials.

Although they have not yet been published in peer-reviewed journals, the results reveal that the new oral treatment reduces patient hospitalization and death of high-risk patients by about 89% compared to the control group given a placebo.

What are Antiviral Drugs?

According to the Cleveland Clinic, Antiviral medication is currently being used to help the body combat harmful viruses. These types of drugs can ease symptoms and shorten the time of viral infection. They also lower the risk of getting infected or spreading viruses such as HIV and herpes.

Antiviral medicines work depending on the drug and virus type it is made to combat. Antivirals can block receptors, so viruses that enter the body cannot bind or enter healthy bodily cells. It can boost a person's immune system and help its body combat viral infections. Likewise, antiviral medication can lower the viral load or the number of active viruses in the person's body.

Pfizer's New COVID-19 Antiviral Pill

Pfizer's latest antiviral drug is the first pill specifically designed to combat SARS-CoV-2 to progress thus far in human clinical trials. Originally called PF-073213332, renamed PAXLOVID, the antiviral drug arose from long-standing research into antiviral targeting the original SARS virus that emerged roughly 20 years ago, reports New Atlas.

Early 2020, Pfizer tuned its pre-existing experimental antiviral molecule for SARS to focus on SARS-CoV-2, and the first interim data from a large-scale clinical trial has just indicated its extraordinary efficacy.

The recent trials have focused on unvaccinated patients at a high risk of hospitalization or developing severe COVID19. The primary group was administered a 5-day course of the Pfizer antiviral pills, starting within three days of symptoms first appearing.

Out of the 389 patients that took the antiviral pill, three were hospitalized with no recorded deaths. This, compared to a placebo control group of 385 study participants that had 27 hospitalization and seven deaths. This means that the antiviral pill is roughly 89% effective in both preventing hospitalization and death.

Meanwhile, another aspect of the trial tested the antiviral treatment up to 5 days after the onset of COVID-19 symptoms, with the results being of equal promise.

An independent data monitoring board recommended the enrollment of the trials be discontinued because of the overwhelming efficacy of the initial results. Over 3000 participants were set to enroll in the trial; however, with the high statistical significance of earlier data, the results were enough for the US Food and Drug administration to evaluate an emergency use authorization over the next few weeks.

There are currently other clinical trials being conducted by Pfizer to ensure different aspects of the antiviral medicine on various conditions and how it will have high efficacy for low-risk adults.