Collaborative post with @sciencewithanni and @sciencewhizliz.
This week Pfizer released via press release some really fantastic news. They have been running clinical trials with Paxlovid and have had such amazing results that they are pausing trial early to seek FDA approval!
First let’s briefly talk about what Paxlovid is. It is a new combination oral therapy that combines a new protease inhibitor (PF-07321332) with a repurposed antiviral
drug initially used for HIV called Ritonavir.
PF-07321332 inhibits a SARS-CoV-2 protease called 3CLPro. 3CLPro helps cut the proteins of the virus so that they can assemble into new virons. If it isn’t able to work then viral replication is impaired. Ritonavir is included because it helps the protease inhibitor work better.
So how well does Paxlovid work? This is all data by press release, but the results are impressive and resulted in a 89% reduction in hospitalization and death when started early in high risk patients with COVID (3-5 days after showing symptoms). Additionally, no deaths were reported in the treatment group. This is why the trial has been paused and approval is being sought.
If this data is confirmed this will really be a game changer. Having effective treatments along with effective prevention (vaccinations) is important to help make this virus something that is less devastating.