New drug
The anti-corona pill is coming – everything you need to know about Paxlovid
Paxlovid is intended to alleviate severe Covid-19 courses
© Jakub Porzycki / Picture Alliance
The first anti-corona tablet is about to be approved in the EU. Paxlovid could be used as early as January. How does the drug work? And is the pill an alternative to vaccination? An overview.
Paxlovid is already approved in the USA, and Germany wants to follow suit as soon as possible. As soon as the European Medicines Agency gives the green light, the corona drug from the US manufacturer Pfizer will also be used in this country – at best in January. Because the study results are promising and suggest that the agent can prevent severe Covid-19 courses and deaths. However, the anti-corona pills come with a weak point. An overview of the most important questions.
What is paxlovid?
Paxlovid is a corona drug in tablet form produced by the US company Pfizer. It consists, among other things, of the active ingredient Nirmatrelvir, which inhibits a Sars-CoV-2 protein. This is to stop the virus from multiplying. Another ingredient is ritonavir, which is already used to treat HIV patients. This ensures that the active ingredient nirmatrelvir is broken down more slowly and stays in the body for as long as possible.
What is known about the effectiveness of paxlovid?
At the beginning of November, Pfizer drew an initial interim assessment of the study. Accordingly, the corona pills very successfully prevent severe disease courses in high-risk patients. According to the test results, the drug reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by 89 percent when used within the first three days of onset of symptoms and still by 88 percent when used within the first five days. None of the study participants who took paxlovid died, but there were twelve deaths among those who took the placebo. These results were confirmed with further study data in mid-December. The interim results were based on data from around 1200 people, the final results include a further 1000 test persons.
Another study with adults found that taking Paxlovid reduced the risk of a severe course of Covid-19 with hospitalization and death by 70 percent compared to the placebo group. According to the interim analysis, there was also a sharp decrease in viral load – ten-fold on day five, even in high-risk patients.
Do the tablets also work against Omikron?
According to initial findings, the company assumes that the agent will also work against Omikron. This is also assumed by independent experts. “We can assume with a high degree of certainty that the currently circulating Omikron variant can still be effectively inhibited by this active ingredient”, Hans-Georg Kräusslich, head of virology at Heidelberg University Hospital, is quoted by “Deutschlandfunk”.
Who should be treated with paxlovid?
According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), corona patients aged 12 and over with mild to moderate symptoms that weigh more than 40 kilograms and who are at risk of worsening the disease can be treated with Paxlovid. The European Medicines Agency (Ema), however, recently announced that the drug could be used to treat adult patients who do not need supplemental oxygen and who are at increased risk of a severe course.
How is the corona drug taken?
Since these are tablets, they are taken orally. A treatment period of five days is necessary, with three pills being taken twice a day. However: The medication must be given in the first five days after the onset of symptoms, as the virus can only be stopped from multiplying during this period. The narrow treatment period is a weak point of the drug. Because many people affected only later know that they have been infected with the corona virus.
What is known about side effects?
The most common side effects include impaired taste, diarrhea, high blood pressure and muscle pain. Also (sometimes life-threatening) interactions with other drugs are possible. The drug is not recommended for pregnant women because animal studies suggest that a high dose of paxlovid could affect the growth of the fetus. People with HIV or liver or kidney problems should also refrain from treatment with Paxlovid.
Is Paxlovid an alternative to vaccination?
No. Because the corona vaccination provides preventive protection against infection with the virus. Paxlovid, on the other hand, is only used if there is already an infection and then at best protects against the course of the disease. “The drug is extremely promising because in the early administration it can significantly weaken the severe course of Covid. I expect that we can use it to prevent numerous severe courses in the intensive care units,” said Health Minister Karl Lauterbach to the German Press Agency ( DPA). Nevertheless, experts see the drugs as an important addition to the vaccines. Although these are significantly more expensive than the vaccine.
When could the product be used?
The US drug agency issued an emergency approval for the drug shortly before Christmas. According to the FDA, it is the first drug in the US that can be taken in tablet form to treat Covid-19. The drug has not yet been officially approved in the EU, but testing is ongoing. However, Lauterbach also announced an emergency approval: “So that Paxlovid can be used immediately upon delivery, I initiated the procedure for emergency approval in Germany together with the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices,” he said. Regardless of the pending approval, Germany has already bought a million packs of the drug. The first deliveries are expected in January.
Are there any other anti-corona tablets?
Molnupiravir from the US manufacturer Merck was the first drug against corona to be approved in pill form in the UK. However, the drug cannot keep up with the effectiveness of paxlovid. According to previous knowledge, it protects up to 30 percent against hospitalization.