Pfizer’s oral medicine to treat Covid could be available by next year: CEO

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has said that an oral drug for treating coronavirus Covid-19 at the first sign of illness could be ready by the end of the year, CEO Albert Bourla said adding the company is working on two antivirals, an oral and an injectable.

“We are actually on two, one is injectable and the other one an oral (antiviral)… Particularly the attention is on the oral for the world and of us because provides several advantages and one of them is that you don’t need to go to the hospital to get the treatment of which is the case with all the injectables so far but you can get it home,” Bourla told CNBC in an interview on Tuesday.

“If all goes well, and we implement the same speed that we are, and if regulators do the same, and they are, I hope that by the end of the year,” Bourla added.

The drug is part of a class of medicines called protease inhibitors and works by inhibiting an enzyme that the virus needs to replicate in human cells. Health experts say the drug, taken by mouth, could be a game-changer because people newly infected with the virus could use it outside of hospitals. Researchers hope the medication will keep the disease from progressing and prevent hospital trips.

In addition to the drug, Pfizer is still testing its vaccine in 6-month to 11-year-old children. Earlier this month, the company asked the FDA to expand its vaccine authorization to adolescents ages 12 to 15 after the shot was found to be 100% effective in a study.

Also Read: 

Covid-19 Vaccination: How to register for vaccine on CoWin portal and Aarogya Setu

The only antiviral currently approved for use against the coronavirus is remdesivir, which is manufactured by Gilead Sciences. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the drug full approval in October after it was granted emergency use authorization in May last year.