The UK has approved the use of the antiviral Paxlovid drug developed by Pfizer for use in the treatment of Covid symptoms.
The drug in pill form is intended to be used immediately after the onset of symptoms in patients at high risk of severe Covid.
In clinical trials, Paxlovid was found to reduce the odds of death and hospitalization in at-risk adults by 89 percent.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also gave Paxlovid approval for use for risky people aged 12 years and older last week.
The British government ordered 2.75 million boxes of drugs from the American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.
Developed based on an HIV drug in use, Paxlovid has become the second antiviral drug approved for the treatment of Covid in the UK.
In November, the drug Molnupiravir was approved.
Health Minister Sajid Javid said new antiviral drugs, along with reminder doses and increased testing, put the UK in a “strong position” to counter the Omicron threat in 2022.
protease inhibitor
An enzyme inhibitor is a molecule that binds to an enzyme and reduces its activity.
Paxlovid, known as a protease inhibitor, also blocks this enzyme that the virus needs for its reproduction. It stays in the body longer when taken with another low-dose antiviral pill called ritonavir.
Paxlovid has been approved for use in the UK in people over the age of 18 who have had a mild or moderate Covid infection but are at risk of worsening the disease.
According to preliminary data from clinical trials on 1219 people with this condition, 0.8 percent of patients taking Paxlovid were hospitalized, while 7 percent of patients given an ineffective placebo drug required hospitalization.
The results of the clinical trial have been published, but have not yet been subject to scrutiny by other scientists.
CEO of the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Agency (MHRA), Dr. June Raine considers it an advantage that Paxlovid is available in pill form, making it possible to treat at home before Covid progresses.
The MHRA states that for this drug to be effective, it must be taken within the first five days after symptoms begin.
Another antiviral pill called Molnupiravir has been given to the most risky patients for some time, including cancer and organ transplant patients.
In a more comprehensive study conducted by Oxford University, it is also tested on 10,000 patients over the age of 50.
The British government had increased the order for this drug produced by the American pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp & Dohme to 2.3 million boxes.
On the other hand, the French health authorities canceled all their orders on the same day, on the grounds that the desired results could not be obtained in the clinical trials.
In addition, the drug called Sotrovimab has been administered since December 20, as the third new treatment administered intravenously for Covid, to people in the risk group who have had organ transplants.