Pfizer’s Covid Pill Get WHO Endorsement for High-Risk Patients

(Bloomberg) -- The World Health Organization endorsed Pfizer Inc.’s antiviral pill Paxlovid for Covid-19 patients who are most at risk, saying that it “strongly recommends” the drug for people who aren’t severely ill. 

People who are older, not vaccinated or immuno-suppressed should take the medicine as soon as possible if they get ill to reduce the risk of hospitalization, according to a guideline published in the BMJ by a group of experts advising the health agency. 

The recommendation further sidelines another recent antiviral, Merck & Co.’s molnupiravir, although it was endorsed by WHO experts last month. Patients in Britain and U.S. are currently given the take-at-home drug, although the U.S.’s National Institutes of Health advises it should only be used if other treatments aren’t available.

Pfizer’s drug “likely represents a superior choice” because clinical trials indicate it may prevent more hospitalizations than the alternatives, has fewer potential side effects than molnupiravir, and is easier to administer than intravenous options, according to a statement from the WHO. 

The drug should not be given to patients at lower risk, the experts said, as the benefits are “trivial.”

Access to the drug in low and middle-income countries could be a problem as the medicine is useful during the early stages of the disease but testing capacity is limited in those regions, the WHO said.  

“WHO is extremely concerned that -- as occurred with COVID-19 vaccines -- low- and middle-income countries will again be pushed to the end of the queue when it comes to accessing this treatment,” the organization said. 

The experts advising WHO also reversed course on Gilead Sciences Inc.’s older drug remdesivir, saying new data from five clinical trials justify a conditional “weak” recommendation that the antiviral could benefit the same group of at-risk patients. 

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