"New tool": Corona drug Paxlovid receives emergency approval for the US market
Created: 12/22/2021, 7:40 PM
From: Tom Offinger
The USA is taking the next step in the fight against the coronavirus.
In the United States, the drug paxlovid received emergency approval and is therefore allowed to be used.
Washington / Munich - The corona drug Paxlovid from the US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has been approved in the USA.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency approval for the antiviral drug in pill form on Wednesday.
The authority spoke of a "big step in the fight against this global pandemic".
The drug was approved for high-risk patients aged twelve and over.
Paxlovid: first treatment in the form of a pill
"Today's approval introduces the first treatment for Covid-19 in the form of a pill that is taken orally," said FDA representative Patrizia Cavazzoni. “At a crucial point in the pandemic with the appearance of new variants, this approval brings a new tool to fight Covid-19.” Patients at high risk of a severe course of the disease would henceforth have better access to treatment with an antiviral drug.
Paxlovid lowers risk patients' risk of hospitalization or death by almost 90 percent, according to Pfizer.
The drug reduces the ability of the coronavirus to multiply in the body's cells and thus slows down the further development of the Covid-19 disease caused by the virus.
The new active ingredient is combined with the drug ritonavir, which is already used to treat HIV patients.
Paxlovid approved in the EU for emergencies only
The EU Medicines Agency EMA supported the use of paxlovid in emergencies last week.
The US pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) has also developed molnupiravir, an antiviral drug against the coronavirus.
According to the company, its effectiveness is only 30 percent.
It has already been approved in the UK.
(afp / to)
