Pfizer’s Paxlovid
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From The Dispatch:
A month or so ago, we wrote to you about a new oral antiviral drug from Merck, molnupiravir, that would have “huge ramifications” for treating those with COVID-19 because it was shown in clinical trials to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by up to 50 percent.
Pfizer blew those numbers away late last week in announcing clinical trial data for an oral antiviral drug of its own: PAXLOVID was found to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by a whopping 89 percent when taken within three days of the onset of COVID-19 symptoms.
That’s an astounding figure, so it’s worth breaking down in detail how it is calculated. Between July 16 and September 29—well after the Delta variant emerged—Pfizer enrolled 1,219 high-risk adults who had contracted COVID-19 in the study. (In a statement provided to The Dispatch, a Pfizer spokeswoman defined “high-risk” in this context as a person being unvaccinated and having “at least one characteristic or underlying medical condition associated with an increased risk of developing severe illness from COVID-19 such as chronic lung disease, hypertension, or diabetes.”) About half of the trial participants (607) were treated with PAXLOVID within five days of symptom onset, and the remainder (612) were given a placebo. After 28 days, nobody treated with the antiviral had died, and only six had been hospitalized. In the control group? Ten deaths and 41 hospitalizations.
In the pharmaceutical company’s earnings call last Tuesday, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told investors they should expect initial data on the oral antiviral at some point between Q4 2021 and Q1 2022. It was published on Friday, three days later, because the results were so overwhelming the company discontinued further enrollment in the study to submit them to the FDA as soon as possible.
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Lucky congresspeople
Pfizer is one of the most popular stocks in Congress, with 48 lawmakers placing their bet on the drugmaker that hikes its prices each year.
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/04/dc-lawmakers-stocks-pharmaceutical-tech/
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Lucky congresspeople
Pfizer is one of the most popular stocks in Congress, with 48 lawmakers placing their bet on the drugmaker that hikes its prices each year.
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/04/dc-lawmakers-stocks-pharmaceutical-tech/
@copper Seems that elected national officials should have to put their money in a "blind" investment account to avoid situations like this.
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