Pfizer claims new Covid-19 pill ‘effective’ against Omicron

The world is about to get an “important and effective tool” in the battle against the devastating Omicron variant – in the form of a simple pill.

Relief against the Omicron strain currently sweeping the globe could soon be in sight after Pfizer announced its new Covid-19 pill was “effective” against the variant.

The pharmaceutical giant has announced “multiple studies” showed nirmatrelvir, the main component of its Paxlovid pill, “has the potential to maintain plasma concentrations many-fold times higher than the amount required to prevent Omicron from replicating in cells.”

In other words, laboratory tests indicate the drug works against Covid-19, including the Omicron variant which emerged late last year.

According to Pfizer, Covid-19 patients take two tablets of nirmatrelvir with one tablet of a different antiviral, ritonavir, twice a day for five days.

Pfizer’s chief scientific officer Mikael Dolsten said the drug appeared to offer significant protection against hospitalisation and death.

“We specifically designed Paxlovid to retain its activity across coronaviruses, as well as current variants of concern with predominantly spike protein mutations,” he said.

“Following the clinical findings – showing Paxlovid reduced risk of hospitalisation or death by nearly 90 per cent compared to placebo for high-risk patients when treated within five days of symptom onset – we are encouraged by these initial laboratory findings.

“These data suggest that our oral Covid-19 therapy can be an important and effective tool in our continued battle against this devastating virus and current variants of concern, including the highly transmissible Omicron. We will continue to monitor the treatment’s activity in real-world settings and believe that these in vitro findings will continue to be validated.”

Kris White, assistant professor in Icahn Mount Sinai’s Department of Microbiology, said the findings were especially welcome given Omicron’s rapid spread.

A South Korean worker unloads cargo containing Pfizer's antiviral Covid-19 pill, Paxlovid, at a cargo terminal of the Incheon International Airport. Picture: Jung Yeon-Je/Pool/AFP

“Omicron is proving itself to be a formidable and highly transmissible variant of an already detrimental virus,” he said.

“We are heartened to see early data showing that this oral treatment is maintaining robust in vitro antiviral activity against it, as well as other variants of concern.”

Previous studies also indicated Paxlovid was effective against earlier and current Covid-19 variants of concern, including the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Lambda and Mu strains.

The drug is currently authorised for conditional or emergency use in several countries across the globe, and Pfizer has submitted applications for regulatory approval or authorisation to multiple regulatory agencies.

Britain approved Pfizer’s Covid-19 pill for adults with mild to moderate cases who are at high risk of their sickness worsening in late December.

It also previously approved the use of Merck’s Covid-19 pill, although that drug appeared to be less effective in reducing hospitalisations and deaths in patients.

In October 2021, Australia’s health department announced Paxlovid was expected to be available to Aussies later in 2022, “subject to TGA approval”.

The government confirmed 500,000 treatment courses had been secured, and would be made available to all state and territory governments, on a request basis, through the National Medical Stockpile.