Pfizer Has Covid Pill Development

NEW YORK
The Pfizer logo displayed at the company’s headquarters in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

The Pfizer pharmaceutical giant brought the world relief from the coronavirus pandemic with the rapid development of its vaccine. Now, relief may be coming to those who fear needles.

Pfizer is developing an oral anti-viral capsule that is designed to attack the virus and prevent it from replicating throughout the throat and lungs, the New York Post reported.

Currently, there is only one anti-viral medication on the market: remdesivir, sold as Veklury by Gilead Sciences Inc.

Trials are underway with the pill, now called PF-07321332, with volunteers between 18 and 60 in the United States and Belgium.

The trial is studying how people respond to the drug and if there are any major side effects. If all goes well, the trial will continue to see how people feel after multiple doses. There is still a long way to go to determine how the pill will affect people with coronavirus. If it is successful, the drug may be available earlier this year.

“We have designed PF-07321332 as a potential oral therapy that could be prescribed at the first sign of infection, without requiring that patients are hospitalized or in critical care,” Mikael Dolsten, the head of Pfizer’s worldwide research, development and medical division, said in a statement.

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smarcus@hamodia.com 

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