The American company Pfizer announced Friday that clinical tests conducted for the first pill of its kind that it produced to treat patients with Covid-19 show that it is highly effective.

The drug is the second of its kind after the pills produced by Merck.

What is this medicine?

And what do we know about him so far?

The company called the new drug "Paxlovid" and said that it succeeded by 89% in reducing the risk of transferring patients to hospitals or the death of many infected adults who are most at risk of severe disease, according to clinical results.

The company that markets one of the main vaccines against Covid-19 confirmed that it intends to submit these results "as soon as possible" to the Food and Drug Administration, to obtain permission for emergency use of the drug.

How do anti-coronavirus work?

Antiviral drugs work by reducing the ability of the virus to reproduce and thus slowing down the disease, and these treatments are a complement to vaccines to protect against Covid-19.

Pfizer's preliminary results are based on clinical trials of more than 1,200 adults who had COVID-19 and were at risk of developing a severe case of the disease.

Days after the onset of symptoms, some were given Pfizer and others a placebo for 5 days, once every 12 hours.

And Pfizer explained in a statement that the preliminary analysis showed an 89% decrease in acute illness and death, compared to placebo, in patients who were treated 3 days after the onset of symptoms, and “similar” results were also observed in patients who were treated after 5 days. from the onset of symptoms.

In all, 10 people died among the patients who received the placebo treatment, compared with zero deaths among the group that received the treatment.

Pfizer's pills are the second to be produced to treat people infected with the Coronavirus, after Merck's (Getty)

overwhelming results

The company indicated that the experiment was supposed to include 3,000 people, but the search for new people to be tested will be stopped “given the overwhelming effectiveness” of the treatment in the first results.

Pfizer CEO Albert Borla said: “This data shows that our oral antiviral drug, if approved or licensed by regulatory agencies, could save patients' lives, reduce the severity of COVID-19 infections, and prevent the need for transfusions of 9 From 10 cases to hospitals.

He stressed that this news "represents a real game-changer in global efforts to stop the devastation caused by this pandemic."

The laboratory is currently conducting two other clinical trials, the first is aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of pills in people who are not at increased risk of developing a severe case of the disease, and the second trial will be about the ability of treatment to reduce the preventive risk of transmission of infection between those around a person with the disease.

Britain and Merck

It is noteworthy that last Thursday, Britain became the first country in the world to give approval for the use of anti-coronavirus pills produced by Merck and Ridgeback for biological treatment, in a push to tackle the pandemic that may change the rules of the game.

The UK Medicines and Health Care Products Agency has recommended the use of Molnopiravir as soon as possible after Covid-19 is confirmed and within 5 days of symptoms appearing.

The drug, which will carry the brand name Lagivrio in Britain, has been widely watched since data last month showed that it can halve the chances of death or hospitalization for people most at risk of developing severe symptoms of Covid-19 when taken early in the disease.

It is reported that in addition to US-based Merck and Pfizer, Roche is also developing similar pills.