An expert committee at the Japanese Health Ministry has cleared Pfizer/BioNTech's oral drug for COVID-19 Paxlovid, making it the second such treatment allowed in the country, the ministry said on Thursday
TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th February, 2022) An expert committee at the Japanese Health Ministry has cleared Pfizer/BioNTech's oral drug for COVID-19 Paxlovid, making it the second such treatment allowed in the country, the ministry said on Thursday.
In December, the ministry approved the Molnupiravir treatment by US pharmaceutical company Merck.
Pfizer filed its request for approval on January 14.
Paxlovid was developed for patients with increased risk of hospitalization or death in the light or moderate forms of the disease. Pfizer claims that the drug lowers chances of hospitalization by at least 88% among high-risk patients.
The US food and Drug Administration authorized Paxlovid to treat mild-to-moderate coronavirus disease in December, while the European Medicines Agency advised to use it for treatment of COVID-19 in adults with mild symptoms in the same month.
