China Corona virus pill: China conditionally approves Pfizer’s Covid treatment pill Paxlovid

China’s medical products regulator has conditionally approved Pfizer’s Covid-19 drug Paxlovid, making it the first oral pill specifically developed to treat the disease cleared in the country.

The National Medical Products Administration said Paxlovid had been approved to treat adults who have mild to moderate Covid-19 and who are at high risk of progressing to a severe condition. Further study on the drug needed to be conducted and submitted to the authority, it said.

Read more at: China conditionally approves Pfizer’s Covid treatment pill Paxlovid | China | The Guardian

USA: Covid-19 medicine: Merck says antiviral COVID-19 pill halves death and hospitalizations

US pharmaceutical giant Merck announced on Friday the results of an internal study of its antiviral COVID-19 treatment pills. It said the results showed hospitalizations and deaths were reduced by half when taken by people recently infected with COVID-19, although academic peer review is not yet completed.

The company will soon ask health officials in the US and around the world to authorize the use of the drug, called molnupiravir. It would be the first antiviral pill to treat COVID-19 effectively, a potential turning point in the pandemic.

Read more at: Merck says antiviral COVID-19 pill halves death and hospitalizations | News | DW | 01.10.2021