US pharmaceutical company Pfizer applied to Japanese Health Ministry on Friday for approval of Paxlovid, a new oral medicine against COVID-19
TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2022) US pharmaceutical company Pfizer applied to Japanese Health Ministry on Friday for approval of Paxlovid, a new oral medicine against COVID-19.
Pfizer has provided the ministry with the clinical trials results. If approved, Paxlovid will become the second oral COVID-19 drug permitted for use in Japan after the one made by US Merck.
Pfizer's Paxlovid is a pill treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 cases for people 12 years of age and older weighing at least 88 Pounds with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 testing, and who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death, according to the US food and Drug Association. The treatment is believed to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death among patients at high risk of severe illness by 88%.
The US Food and Drug Administration authorized the use of Paxlovid on December 22. On January 10, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) started a review of Paxlovid. If the EMA confirms that the benefits of the drug outweigh the risks, it will coordinate with the European Commission to fast track the decision granting marketing authorization in the European Union.
South Korea, Germany, Israel and the United Kingdom have all approved the use of Paxlovid.
