The Hague: EU drug regulators issued Thursday’s advice on the use of the experimental pill Pfizer to treat Covid-19 to countries where the authorities may want to use it before officially authorized the level of infection in the middle.
The European Medicine Agency said the drug, which has not been authorized to be used in the UE 27-nation, “can be used to treat adults with Covid-19 which does not require additional oxygen and which is at a higher risk of experiencing severe illness..” Medicines must be given as soon as possible Maybe after the diagnosis of Covid-19 and within 5 days of the beginning of symptoms.
Pfizer said earlier this week that the pill, named Paxlovid, appeared effective against the new Omicron variant which currently sweeps the United Kingdom and has been detected in dozens of more countries around the world.
Pfizer said this week that the full result of a 2,250-person study confirmed the initial results that promised pills against viruses: drugs reduce combined hospitalization and death of around 89% among high-risk adults when not long after the symptoms of Covid-19 early.
EMA said in a statement issued suggestions “to support national authorities that could decide the possibility of initial drug use before marketing authorization, for example in emergency use settings, in the light of the increase in infection and death due to Covid -19 throughout the EU.” Ema basing its decision about Studies of patients who are not treated in hospitals and are not vaccinated who have Covid-19 and at least one underlying condition that places them at risk of experiencing severe Covid-19 symptoms.
“This data shows that Paxlovid reduces the risk of hospitalization and death when treatment begins in 5 days since the start of symptoms,” said the agency.
It was said this study showed around 1% of patients who took PFIXER pills within five days from the beginning of the symptoms being hospitalized within 28 days starting care compared to 6.7% of patients given placebo.
It was said that no patient in the group that took the pill died compared to 10 patients in the placebo group.
Chairman of the Pfizer and Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla welcomed the advice of EMA.
“Covid-19 continues to take life at a globally unprecedented speed and demand destructive victims in the health care system,” he said in a statement.
“If authorized, Paxlovoid has the potential to help save lives and reduce hospitalization.
We hope to work with EMA and other supervisory agencies around the world to present this treatment potential to the patient as soon as possible.”