FDA authorizes the first at-home pills from Pfizer to treat Covid-19
The FDA on Wednesday signed off on Pfizer’s Covid-19 pills, which are meant to help keep people out of the hospital.
The news comes at a crucial moment, as the Omicron variant has taken over Delta as the prominent strain in the US, and as monoclonal antibody infusions will likely be in very short supply as two of the three currently marketed are ineffective against Omicron.
Pfizer will see early supply constraints of their pills, which are made up of nirmatrelvir tablets and ritonavir tablets, co-packaged for oral use, meaning doctors will have to be very careful on how they’re doled out. And if Merck’s pill is authorized soon too, there may be more options, although there’s also a drastic difference in efficacy between the two.
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