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WHO 'strongly recommends' Pfizer's Covid pill

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Christophe Vogt, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A pharmacist displays a case of Paxlovid, a COVID-19 treatment pills developed by Pfizer Inc., at a drugstore in Seoul, South Korea, 21 February 2022. The age restriction on the administration of the pills to those with underlying diseases was lowered to 40 from 50. EPA-EFE/YONHAP" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/overseas/04/22/20220422-paxlovid-epa.jpg"/><figcaption>A pharmacist displays a case of Paxlovid, a COVID-19 treatment pills developed by Pfizer Inc., at a drugstore in Seoul, South Korea, 21 February 2022. The age restriction on the administration of the pills to those with underlying diseases was lowered to 40 from 50. <em>EPA-EFE/YONHAP</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>GENEVA, Switzerland - The World Health Organization said Friday it &quot;strongly recommended&quot; Pfizer&#x27;s Covid-19 antiviral pill Paxlovid for patients with milder forms of the disease who were still at a high risk of hospitalization.</p><p>However the UN agency warned it was &quot;extremely concerned&quot; that the inequality in access seen with Covid vaccines would again leave low- and middle-income countries &quot;pushed to the end of the queue&quot;.</p><p>US pharma giant Pfizer&#x27;s combination of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir was the &quot;superior choice&quot; of treatment for unvaccinated, elderly or immunocompromised people with Covid, the WHO&#x27;s experts said in the BMJ medical journal.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/11/22/philippines-grants-eua-to-paxlovid-extends-shelf-life-of-astrazeneca-jabs">Philippine grants EUA to COVID-19 drug Paxlovid, extends shelf life of more AstraZeneca jabs</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/02/08/22/pfizer-eyes-54-b-in-2022-sales-of-covid-vaccine-pill">Pfizer forecasts $54 billion in 2022 sales of COVID vaccine, pill</a></li></ul><p>For the same patients, the WHO also made a &quot;conditional (weak) recommendation&quot; of the antiviral drug remdesivir made by US biotech firm Gilead -- which it had previously recommended against.</p><p>The WHO recommended Paxlovid over remdesivir, as well as over Merck&#x27;s molnupiravir pill and monoclonal antibodies.</p><p>Pfizer&#x27;s oral treatment prevents hospitalization more than the &quot;available alternatives, has fewer concerns with respects to harms than molnupiravir, and is easier to administer than intravenous remdesivir and antibodies,&quot; the WHO&#x27;s experts said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/11/05/21/pfizer-pill-cuts-risk-of-severe-covid-19-by-89">Pfizer says antiviral pill cuts risk of severe COVID-19 by 89%</a></li></ul><p>The new recommendation was based on the findings of two trials involving almost 3,100 patients which showed that Paxlovid reduced the risk of hospital admission by 85 percent.</p><p>The trials also &quot;suggested no important difference in mortality&quot; and &quot;little or no risk of adverse effects leading to drug discontinuation&quot;. </p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1821042" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><p>The recommendation applies to people over the age of 18, but not to pregnant or breastfeeding women.</p><p>It also does not apply to patients with a low risk of complications from the disease, because the benefit would be minimal.</p><p>The WHO&#x27;s experts also declined to give an opinion for patients with severe forms of the disease, due to a lack of data.</p><div><strong>LIMITATIONS AND INEQUITIES</strong></div><p>The WHO stressed the limitations of such antiviral treatments. </p><p>&quot;The medicine can only be administered while the disease is at its early stages,&quot; they said.</p><p>This means the patients must quickly test positive and be prescribed the pill by a doctor -- all of which can pose obstacles for low- and middle-income countries, the WHO said.</p><p>Yet Covid pills have been seen as a potentially huge step in ending the pandemic as they can be taken at home, rather than in hospital.</p><p>Patients must start taking their Paxlovid pills within five days of the onset of symptoms -- the course then lasts five days.</p><p>Remdesivir can be taken within seven days of symptoms setting in, but it is administered intravenously over three days.</p><div><strong>QUESTIONS ABOUT COST</strong></div><p>The WHO called on Pfizer to &quot;make its pricing and deals more transparent&quot; for Paxlovid.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/11/17/21/pfizer-strikes-global-licensing-deal-for-covid-pill">‘Game changer‘: Pfizer strikes global licensing deal for COVID pill</a></li></ul><p>Lisa Hedman, the WHO&#x27;s senior advisor on access to medicines, said that radio station NPR reported a full course of Paxlovid costs $530 in the United States. Another source unconfirmed by WHO gave the price of $250 in an upper-middle income country.</p><p>Remdesivir meanwhile costs $520, Hedman said, but generic versions made by companies in India sell for $53-$64. </p><p>There is also a question mark over whether the virus could build resistance to these treatments.</p><p>But earlier this month Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla predicted a bright future for treatments like Paxlovid as people grow tired of getting further booster vaccinations.</p><p>Coming under fire for prioritizing wealthy countries with its vaccine, Pfizer has agreed to allow some generic drugmakers around the world to make cheaper versions of Paxlovid under a UN-backed scheme. </p><p>But on Friday the WHO &quot;strongly recommended&quot; that Pfizer let more generic manufacturers produce the drug and &quot;make it available faster at affordable prices&quot;.</p><p>vog/dl/yad</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

The World Health Organization has 'strongly recommended' Pfizer's Covid-19 antiviral pill Paxlovid for patients with milder forms of the disease.

WHO 'strongly recommends' Pfizer's Covid pill

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WHO 'strongly recommends' Pfizer's Covid pill

Christophe Vogt,

Agence France-Presse

Published April 22, 2022 07:02 AM PHT

Read More:

coronavirus

covid-19

world health organization

Paxlovid

united nations

nirmatrelvir

ritonavir

remdesivir

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