Pfizer says its Covid pill with HIV drug cuts the risk of hospitalization or death by 89%
PUBLISHED FRI, NOV 5 20216:45 AM EDTUPDATED FRI, NOV 5 20214:39 PM EDT
- Pfizer said its Covid-19 pill, used with an HIV drug, cut the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% in high-risk adults who’ve been exposed to the virus.
- It’s now the second antiviral pill behind Merck’s to demonstrate strong effectiveness for treating Covid at the first sign of illness.
- Pfizer said it plans to submit its data to the Food and Drug Administration “as soon as possible.”
Pfizer said Friday that its easy-to-administer Covid-19 pill, used in combination with a widely used HIV drug, cut the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% in high-risk adults who’ve been exposed to the virus.
It’s now the second antiviral pill behind Merck’s to demonstrate strong effectiveness for treating Covid at the first sign of illness. If cleared by regulators, it would likely be a game changer in the ongoing global pandemic fight.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told CNBC the company plans to submit its data to the Food and Drug Administration before Thanksgiving.
“I think this medicine will change the way things are happening right now that will save millions and millions of lives, it has the potential to do it,” Bourla said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” He said the company has “the capacity right now of 500 million pills,” which he said translates to 50 million treatments. “The very high efficacy comes even to us as a surprise, exceeds our most visionary expectations we had for that.”
The company’s shares jumped by about 8% in morning trading.
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