BRUSSELS. The European Medicines Agency has recommended conditional marketing authorization for Paxlovid, the oral anti-Covid drug manufactured by Pfizer. It should be used as soon as possible after the infection, at the latest within 5 days of the positive swab. It is an antiviral that slows the replication of the coronavirus within the body. In tests it has shown that it can prevent aggravation of symptoms and hospitalization in 90% of cases. Italy, through Commissioner Figliuolo, has purchased 40 thousand cycles, expected in the next few days.
In Italy the other antiviral developed by Merck Sharp & Dohme is already used, which is called Molnupiravir and has not yet received formal authorization from the EMA. Its effectiveness, initially estimated at 90%, was then revised downwards and is now estimated at 30%. The regulatory authority of Amsterdam has therefore preferred to give priority to Pfizer, which also raises fewer doubts about safety.
Antivirals will not be intended for all infected people, but only for those with risk factors that suggest a worsening of symptoms. On the American market, each cycle (which lasts 5 days) costs around 700 dollars. Unlike monoclonal antibodies, these drugs can be taken comfortably at home (they are tablets) and do not need an IV in the hospital. They are not even affected by the variants, which instead have knocked out two of the three monoclonal antibodies used in Italy.
In the case of Paxlovid, in addition to the specific antiviral for the coronavirus, another antiviral used against HIV must also be taken, Ritonavir, which prolongs the effectiveness of the first. However, treatment is excluded if the patient takes a long list of other medicines, which can interact with Ritonavir, which is why vaccination is still being recommended as the main tool to curb the pandemic.