This Friday the Pfizer Inc mentioned that as the drugmakers have joined the conquest for an easy-to-use medication to treat the coronavirus, their antiviral pill experimentations for the coronavirus have cut the rates of death and hospitalization by an average of 90 percentage points in the adults who were under high threat.
Currently, around the world, almost all the treatments are being carried out through injections or IVs. Merck’s competitor of Covid 19 tablets have also been made, and now it is being reviewed food and Drug Administration. It has already shown strong results initially, and because of it United Kingdom has become the first-ever country to OK it and consider it safe to use.
For the authorization of the tablet as soon as possible, Pfizer has announced that they will be talking to the FDA and the international regulations too about the authorization after the company’s study based on the strength of the results after the intake of tablets. This will be done with independent experimentation.
Covid 19 pill development has been in competition throughout the world since the beginning of the pandemic. Everyone wants a safe and speedy recovery solution with easy intake, and that could only be fulfilled by the tablet. So that’s why the demand for a Covid relief tablet Is very much in scope nowadays.
Dr. John Mellors, who is the chief of infectious diseases at the University of Pittsburgh, said that taking pills to treat early symptoms of covid would prove to be very efficient and advanced. He was, although not involved in the Pfizer study but in a sea of knowledge and wisdom.
“If someone developed the symptoms and tested positive, we could call in a prescription to the local pharmacy as we do for many, many infectious diseases,” he said.
A preliminary study of the results of 775 adults by Pfizer was made on a Friday. Compared to patients taking a dummy pill, the patients with Covid 19 symptoms who took the Pfizer company tablet with an antiviral too had almost 89 percentage points less hospitalization risk or death risk after a month. Only about one percentage point or even less were hospitalized and passed away. Also, The seven percentage points were those who were hospitalized with seven deaths in total,
“We were hoping that we would have something exceptional, but it is rare that we will see great drugs make it with almost 90 percentage point efficiency and 100% protection from the death,” was said in an interview by Dr. Mikael Dolsten who is a Pfizer’s chief scientific officer.
The participants who have agreed to participate in this experimental study were initially unvaccinated, and they had mild to mid-term symptoms of coronavirus. They had a higher risk of hospitalization due to their other health issues like heart diseases, diabetes, and obesity; treatment lasted up to five days, with beginning three to five days of starting disease symptoms. Through results, it was proved that patients with early own drug intake showed very better results.
Pfizer Inc has reported only a few details regarding the side effects. They said that the problem rates between different groups are about 20 percentage points.
As the results showed such clear and healthy signs, the standard procedure was stopped by the experts immediately. These experts were of an independent group who were monitoring the trial of the pill working. This data has not been made official yet and is only used for research purposes for now.
Vaccination still remains the top choice for the treatment of Covad, according to the top United States health professionals. But as there are a globally huge amount of people who have not yet been vaccinated, the tablets seem to be a safe and easy option to opt for treatment.
Merck’s pill called the Molnupiravir will be reviewed in the meetings by the FDA. In September, it was reported that the drug has successfully cut the rate of hospitalization and death by 50 percentage points. Because of the difference in the study, experts have warned against the comparison of the preliminary results. This is because of the difference in studies, location of the test, and variants included.
“It is too early to say that who won the hundred-meter dash,” Mellors mentioned. “There is a huge difference between the 50% and the 90%, but we need to make sure that the populations were at least almost comparable.”
Merck tablets are undergoing the United States regulatory process, but the Pfizer drug has a lot of benefits from a safer point of view and is an even easier and familiar option than the other options in which there will be uncertainty. Merck’s trial did not include the pregnant ladies as that might not be suitable because of the side effects that it might cause. For example, birth defects may be seen in the offspring.
Where the Merck trial did not include pregnant ladies, the Pfizer trial did. This pill of Merck works through the interference of the genetic code of coronavirus, which is a novel way to defeat the virus.
Protease inhibitors from the Pfizer drug are the type of antiviral drugs that use the old drugs from almost a decade old, which got popular for treating HIV and hepatitis C. The drug usually blocks this enzyme because of which the coronavirus multiply in the body.
During the SARS outbreak in the year 2003, In the continent of Asia, this drug was recognized. Last year the company decided to study it again for Covid treatment as the coronaviruses were similar.
Remdesivir by the United States has been approved by them. With it, the three antibodies are made active to help our body’s immunity fight the virus. This redeliver is given through the injection or IV at clinic or hospital and limited the supply by the last surge of the delta variant.
The Associated Press of Health and Science Department got support from the Department of Science Education of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Also Read: U.K. Authorises Merck’s First Antiviral Pill to Treat COVID
