Status: 04.01.2022 10:48 p.m.
The USA is being overwhelmed by an omicron wave – the hospitals are preparing for more corona patients. The Pfizer drug Paxlovid should also help in the fight against Covid – the Biden government has reordered.
The US government will double its order for the promising Covid-19 drug Paxlovid. The pharmaceutical company Pfizer would order pills to treat up to 20 million patients, President Joe Biden told the White House. “We might even need more,” said Biden, looking ahead to the months ahead. The drug will prevent many illnesses and deaths. Together with the German company BioNTech, Pfizer is already selling a widely used vaccine against the coronavirus.
In November, Biden had already announced an order for ten million treatments with an order volume of 5.3 billion US dollars (4.7 billion euros). That equates to a price of $ 530 per patient. The Pfizer drug should be “easily available and free” in the US. According to the US pharmaceutical company, the first ten million packs will be delivered by the end of June and the second half by the end of the year.
Medication for patients aged twelve and over
Paxlovid received emergency approval from the National Food and Drug Administration in the United States on December 23rd. Corona patients aged twelve and over with mild to moderate symptoms and a high risk of severe disease should be treated with the drug. According to the manufacturer, three tablets should be taken twice a day for five days.
An interim analysis of test results found the drug reduced the risk of hospital admissions and death in Covid patients by nearly 90 percent, according to Pfizer. This applies to treatments within three days of the first symptoms. Similar values would have resulted from treatments within five days. The drug consists, among other things, of the active ingredient Nirmatrelvir, which inhibits a SARS-CoV-2 protein. This is to stop the virus from multiplying.
Federal government hopes for approval in January
The federal government has ordered a million packs of Paxlovid from Pfizer. According to Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, his ministry has also opted for the delivery of a further million units. The government is still hoping for approval of the drug in January.
In addition to paxlovid, the corona drug molnupiravir from Pfizer’s competitor MSD has also been approved in the USA. However, the agent has an effectiveness of only 30 percent in preventing hospital admissions and fatal courses of illness.