Antivirals work by reducing the ability of a virus to replicate, thus slowing down the disease. They are highly anticipated because they are easy to administer as they are taken with a glass of water.
Pfizer had declared in December that its anticovid pill reduced hospitalizations and deaths in people at risk by almost 90% when taken in the first days after the onset of symptoms.
The EMA evaluated data from a study involving Covid-19 patients that showed “Paxlovid treatment significantly reduced hospitalizations or deaths in patients who had at least one underlying disease that put them at risk of contracting Covid-19″. 19 serious,” reported the Europa Press news agency.
The analysis was performed on patients who received Paxlovid or placebo within five days of the onset of Covid-19 symptoms and who did not receive, nor were expected to receive, antibody treatment.
During the month following treatment, 0.8% of patients who received Paxlovid were hospitalized for more than 24 hours, compared to 6.3% of those who received placebo.
While there were no deaths among those who received Paxlovid, there were nine deaths in the placebo group. That is, the data showed that the antiviral reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% within three days of symptom onset, and by 88% within five days of symptom onset, compared with the placebo.
Most of the patients in the study were infected with the Delta variant.
Based on laboratory studies, the antiviral is also expected to be active against Omicron and other future variants.
Paxlovid’s safety profile was favorable and side effects were “generally mild.”
However, the EMA recalls that “ritonavir is known to affect the action of many other drugs”, which is why it included warnings and advice in the
“With the authorization of Paxlovid this week, 6 anti-coronavirus medicines have been authorized under the EU’s therapeutic strategy,” European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides said in a statement.
This expression of confidence in Paxlovid comes at a critical time when Europe is facing the ongoing challenges of the pandemic and infection rates are rising in many countries around the world.
The United States, Canada and Israel are among a handful of countries that have already green-lighted the Pfizer treatment.
Source From: Ambito
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