Pfizer prepares shipments of antiviral pill for treating COVID-19
Pfizer's clinical study of PAXLOVID showed an 89% reduction in risk of COVID-19-related hospitalization or death
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Pfizer announced Tuesday that it has prepared the first shipments of its COVID-19 antiviral pill PAXLOVID and sent them to the airport for distribution across Europe and America once the treatment receives approval.
The Pfizer logo displayed at the company's headquarters in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File / AP Newsroom)
"Thrilled to see the first shipments of our COVID-19 antiviral candidate head to the airport for distribution across Europe and the United States," the pharmaceutical giant wrote in a tweet. "Approval or authorization could be a big step forward in helping end this pandemic."
PFIZER ASKS FDA FOR EMERGENCY APPROVAL OF ANTIVIRAL PILL FOR TREATING COVID-19
Earlier this month, Pfizer submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization of PAXLOVID for the treatment of COVID-19.
The drug maker's study of the new antiviral pill showed nearly a 90% reduction in hospitalization and death for folks with coronavirus who took the pill versus those who did not.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla talks during a press conference.
"With more than 5 million deaths and countless lives impacted by this devastating disease globally, there is an urgent need for life-saving treatment options," Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement this month. "The overwhelming efficacy achieved in our recent clinical study of PAXLOVID, and its potential to help save lives and keep people out of the hospital if authorized, underscores the critical role that oral antiviral therapies could play in the battle against COVID-19."
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The Pfizer logo is displayed at world headquarters in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File / AP Newsroom)
A similar oral pill developed by Pfizer competitor Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics was endorsed in a vote of 13-10 by an FDA panel on Tuesday.
Currently, all COVID-19 treatments used in the U.S. require an IV or injection.
Fox News' Breck Dumas and The Associated Press contributed to this article.