Pfizer gets nod From EU regulator for Covid drug Paxlovid

Pfizer’s Covid-19 pill received backing from the European Union’s drugs regulator, offering a tool to manage coronavirus infections at home and ease the burden on hospitals.

The European Medicines Agency’s expert committee recommended granting a conditional marketing authorisation for the antiviral, called Paxlovid, for adults with Covid at risk of developing severe illness. The agency had already said in December that the treatment could be used by adults, in advance of formal approval.

The prospect of a pill that can be taken at home at the first sign of symptoms is sparking optimism about the course of the pandemic, especially amid evidence that the omicron variant causes less severe disease.

Paxlovid, which works by binding to an enzyme to stop the virus from replicating, reduced hospitalisation and death among high-risk patients by 89 per cent in a trial of 1,219 unvaccinated individuals.

Pfizer has since said that laboratory testing has showed the treatment is effective against the omicron variant.

The UK’s regulator cleared Paxlovid at the end of last year, and the drug also has emergency-use authorisation in the US.