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Pfizer developing pill to treat COVID-19 symptoms
“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 (it will be available) by the end of the year,” Dr. Bourla said on CNBC’s Squawk Box.
So far, the only antiviral drug authorized for use with COVID-19 is remdesivir, which is produced by Gilead Sciences and must be administered by injection in a health care setting.
An oral drug like the one Pfizer is developing could be taken at home and might keep people out of the hospital.
“Particular attention is on the oral because it provides several advantages,” Dr. Bourla said. “One of them is that you don’t need to go to the hospital to get the treatment, which is the case with all the injectables so far. You could get it at home, and that could be a game-changer.”
The drug might be effective against the emerging variants, he said. Pfizer is also working on an injectable antiviral drug.
Pfizer, with its European partner BioNTech, developed the first coronavirus vaccine authorized for use in the United States and Europe. The Pfizer pill under development would not be a vaccine to protect people from the virus but a drug to treat people who catch the virus.
The company announced in late March that it was starting clinical trials on the oral drug.
In a news release, the company said the oral drug would work by blocking protease, a critical enzyme that the virus needs to replicate. Protease inhibitors are used in medicines to treat HIV and hepatitis C.
A coronavirus vaccine that could be taken as a pill may enter clinical trials in the second quarter of 2021. The oral vaccine is being developed by Oravax Medical, a new joint venture of the Israeli-American company Oramed and the Indian company Premas Biotech. So far, all coronavirus vaccines are injectable.
A version of this article first appeared on WebMD.com.
“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 (it will be available) by the end of the year,” Dr. Bourla said on CNBC’s Squawk Box.
So far, the only antiviral drug authorized for use with COVID-19 is remdesivir, which is produced by Gilead Sciences and must be administered by injection in a health care setting.
An oral drug like the one Pfizer is developing could be taken at home and might keep people out of the hospital.
“Particular attention is on the oral because it provides several advantages,” Dr. Bourla said. “One of them is that you don’t need to go to the hospital to get the treatment, which is the case with all the injectables so far. You could get it at home, and that could be a game-changer.”
The drug might be effective against the emerging variants, he said. Pfizer is also working on an injectable antiviral drug.
Pfizer, with its European partner BioNTech, developed the first coronavirus vaccine authorized for use in the United States and Europe. The Pfizer pill under development would not be a vaccine to protect people from the virus but a drug to treat people who catch the virus.
The company announced in late March that it was starting clinical trials on the oral drug.
In a news release, the company said the oral drug would work by blocking protease, a critical enzyme that the virus needs to replicate. Protease inhibitors are used in medicines to treat HIV and hepatitis C.
A coronavirus vaccine that could be taken as a pill may enter clinical trials in the second quarter of 2021. The oral vaccine is being developed by Oravax Medical, a new joint venture of the Israeli-American company Oramed and the Indian company Premas Biotech. So far, all coronavirus vaccines are injectable.
A version of this article first appeared on WebMD.com.
“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 (it will be available) by the end of the year,” Dr. Bourla said on CNBC’s Squawk Box.
So far, the only antiviral drug authorized for use with COVID-19 is remdesivir, which is produced by Gilead Sciences and must be administered by injection in a health care setting.
An oral drug like the one Pfizer is developing could be taken at home and might keep people out of the hospital.
“Particular attention is on the oral because it provides several advantages,” Dr. Bourla said. “One of them is that you don’t need to go to the hospital to get the treatment, which is the case with all the injectables so far. You could get it at home, and that could be a game-changer.”
The drug might be effective against the emerging variants, he said. Pfizer is also working on an injectable antiviral drug.
Pfizer, with its European partner BioNTech, developed the first coronavirus vaccine authorized for use in the United States and Europe. The Pfizer pill under development would not be a vaccine to protect people from the virus but a drug to treat people who catch the virus.
The company announced in late March that it was starting clinical trials on the oral drug.
In a news release, the company said the oral drug would work by blocking protease, a critical enzyme that the virus needs to replicate. Protease inhibitors are used in medicines to treat HIV and hepatitis C.
A coronavirus vaccine that could be taken as a pill may enter clinical trials in the second quarter of 2021. The oral vaccine is being developed by Oravax Medical, a new joint venture of the Israeli-American company Oramed and the Indian company Premas Biotech. So far, all coronavirus vaccines are injectable.
A version of this article first appeared on WebMD.com.
Half of Americans would get COVID-19 vaccine, poll shows
About half of Americans say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine if one is available, according to the Associated Press.
The poll was conducted May 14-18 and released May 27.
A massive national and international effort is underway to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus. According to the poll, 20% of Americans believe a vaccine will be available before the end of 2020. Another 61% think it will arrive in 2021, and 17% say it will take longer.
“It’s always better to under-promise and over-deliver,” William Schaffner, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told the AP.
Americans over age 60 were more likely to say they’ll get a coronavirus vaccine when it’s available. Those who worry that they or someone in their household could become infected with the virus were also more likely to say they’ll get a vaccine. However, Black Americans were more likely than were Hispanic or white responders to say that they don’t plan to get a vaccine.
Among those who plan to get a vaccine, 93% said they want to protect themselves, and 88% said they want to protect their family. About 72% said “life won’t go back to normal until most people are vaccinated,” and 33% said they have a chronic health condition such as asthma or diabetes and believe it’s important to receive a vaccine.
Among those who don’t plan to get a vaccine, 70% said they’re concerned about side effects. Another 42% are worried about getting the coronavirus from the vaccine. Others say they’re not concerned about getting seriously ill from the coronavirus, they don’t think vaccines work well, the COVID-19 outbreak isn’t serious, or they don’t like needles.
The National Institutes of Health says that safety is the top priority and is creating a plan to test the vaccine in thousands of people for safety and efficacy in coming months, according to the AP.
“I would not want people to think that we’re cutting corners because that would be a big mistake,” NIH director Francis Collins, MD, told AP earlier this month. “I think this is an effort to try to achieve efficiencies but not to sacrifice rigor.”
This article first appeared on WebMD.com.
About half of Americans say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine if one is available, according to the Associated Press.
The poll was conducted May 14-18 and released May 27.
A massive national and international effort is underway to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus. According to the poll, 20% of Americans believe a vaccine will be available before the end of 2020. Another 61% think it will arrive in 2021, and 17% say it will take longer.
“It’s always better to under-promise and over-deliver,” William Schaffner, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told the AP.
Americans over age 60 were more likely to say they’ll get a coronavirus vaccine when it’s available. Those who worry that they or someone in their household could become infected with the virus were also more likely to say they’ll get a vaccine. However, Black Americans were more likely than were Hispanic or white responders to say that they don’t plan to get a vaccine.
Among those who plan to get a vaccine, 93% said they want to protect themselves, and 88% said they want to protect their family. About 72% said “life won’t go back to normal until most people are vaccinated,” and 33% said they have a chronic health condition such as asthma or diabetes and believe it’s important to receive a vaccine.
Among those who don’t plan to get a vaccine, 70% said they’re concerned about side effects. Another 42% are worried about getting the coronavirus from the vaccine. Others say they’re not concerned about getting seriously ill from the coronavirus, they don’t think vaccines work well, the COVID-19 outbreak isn’t serious, or they don’t like needles.
The National Institutes of Health says that safety is the top priority and is creating a plan to test the vaccine in thousands of people for safety and efficacy in coming months, according to the AP.
“I would not want people to think that we’re cutting corners because that would be a big mistake,” NIH director Francis Collins, MD, told AP earlier this month. “I think this is an effort to try to achieve efficiencies but not to sacrifice rigor.”
This article first appeared on WebMD.com.
About half of Americans say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine if one is available, according to the Associated Press.
The poll was conducted May 14-18 and released May 27.
A massive national and international effort is underway to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus. According to the poll, 20% of Americans believe a vaccine will be available before the end of 2020. Another 61% think it will arrive in 2021, and 17% say it will take longer.
“It’s always better to under-promise and over-deliver,” William Schaffner, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told the AP.
Americans over age 60 were more likely to say they’ll get a coronavirus vaccine when it’s available. Those who worry that they or someone in their household could become infected with the virus were also more likely to say they’ll get a vaccine. However, Black Americans were more likely than were Hispanic or white responders to say that they don’t plan to get a vaccine.
Among those who plan to get a vaccine, 93% said they want to protect themselves, and 88% said they want to protect their family. About 72% said “life won’t go back to normal until most people are vaccinated,” and 33% said they have a chronic health condition such as asthma or diabetes and believe it’s important to receive a vaccine.
Among those who don’t plan to get a vaccine, 70% said they’re concerned about side effects. Another 42% are worried about getting the coronavirus from the vaccine. Others say they’re not concerned about getting seriously ill from the coronavirus, they don’t think vaccines work well, the COVID-19 outbreak isn’t serious, or they don’t like needles.
The National Institutes of Health says that safety is the top priority and is creating a plan to test the vaccine in thousands of people for safety and efficacy in coming months, according to the AP.
“I would not want people to think that we’re cutting corners because that would be a big mistake,” NIH director Francis Collins, MD, told AP earlier this month. “I think this is an effort to try to achieve efficiencies but not to sacrifice rigor.”
This article first appeared on WebMD.com.