By: Real America News Updated 19 Jan 2022 , 9: 21 am EST
The pharmaceutical company Pfizer assured that the studies carried out in the laboratory of the oral treatment Paxlovid against COVID-19 have shown that is also effective against the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
According to a statement, studies suggest that the treatment “has the potential to maintain plasma concentrations much higher than the amount necessary to prevent Ómicron from replicating in cells.”
Paxlovid, which has obtained emergency authorization in the United States and other countries, reduces the risk of hospitalization or death by about one 89%, compared to placebo in high-risk patients when treated within five days of onset of symptoms.
Treatment combines nirmatrelvir , which blocks virus replication by inhibiting the enzyme protease, and ritonavir, whose function is to increase the duration of effectiveness.
“We specifically designed Paxlovid to maintain its activity against coronaviruses, as well as the variants that are currently of concern and that have predominantly mutations in their spike proteins,” said Pfizer Chief Scientist Mikael Dolsten, quoted in the note.
The statement indicates that in an in vitro study carried out by Pfizer, the efficacy of nirmatrelvir was tested against the Mpro enzyme that the coronavirus needs to replicate and that is shared by the different variants of SARS-CoV- 2, including omicron.
“The results showed in all cases that nirmatrelvir was a potent inhibitor” says the note.
According to Kris White, an assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology at the Icahn Center at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, is encouraging to see how early data shows that oral treatment maintains “an in vitro antiviral activity against” Ómicron.
The Icahn center conducted another laboratory study together with Pfizer to determine the effectiveness of paxlovid treatment against ómicron and other variants of the coronavirus.
In December, the European Medicines Agency assured that Paxlovid can be used to treat adults with COVID-19 who do not require supplemental oxygen and who have a higher risk of developing a severe form of the disease.
With information from Efe.
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Pfizer claims that e, if your Paxlovid pill is administered within 3 days of symptom onset, it reduces by 89% risk of hospitalization and death