3 things to know about Paxlovid, Pfizer’s anti-Covid pill produced partly in France

Pfizer will support production and research in France. The pharmaceutical giant announced on Monday that it will invest more than 520 million euros in France within five years, in particular in the context of the fight against Covid-19.

Part of the production of its Paxlovid pill will notably be entrusted to the French Novasep. Based in Mourenx, 30 kilometers from Pau, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, the company could produce the active ingredient for this treatment from the third quarter of 2022. “The group thus joins the global supplier network of Pfizer, which will manufacture up to 120 million boxes [de Paxlovid] for patients worldwide by the end of 2022” rejoices Novasep in a press release. But what do we know about this treatment?

Similar to Molnupiravir, the antiviral from the American pharmaceutical company Merck, the Pfizer pill is a combination of two molecules, said the American laboratory in a press release published in November, which are taken in the form of separate tablets. One, the active agent PF-07321332, prevents the virus protein from replicating. The second is the antiviral Ritonavir, a protease inhibitor used to treat HIV infections.

Antivirals, which work by reducing the ability of a virus to replicate, thus curbing the disease, are easy to administer, and can simply be taken at home with a glass of water.

Last December, Pfizer announced that its pill would reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% within 3 days of the onset of symptoms. In more detail, according to interim results from the main study in non-hospitalized, non-vaccinated patients who had symptomatic disease and were at risk of developing severe disease, Paxlovid “reduced the risk of hospitalization and death when treatment was given within 5 days of symptom onset”, and the treatment should extend over five days. It should remain effective against Omicron according to laboratory tests, Pfizer also announced. “Paxlovid will reduce the risk of mortality very significantly”, comments to the Parisian the virologist Bruno Lina, member of the Scientific Council.

Early feedback from the use of this treatment, particularly in Israel, appears encouraging, with the most common side effects being taste disturbance, diarrhea and nausea. However, the latter is not recommended during pregnancy and for people likely to become pregnant. Breast-feeding should also be discontinued while taking the treatment.

Pfizer specifies that the price of its treatment will be determined according to the income level of each country in order to respect global equity. “High and upper middle income countries will pay more than low income countries”, summarizes the laboratory, noting that advance purchase agreements have already been concluded with several countries.

As a reminder, on January 10, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced that it had started examining an application for authorization in the EU of Pfizer’s anti-Covid pill, specifying that an opinion could be issued in “a few weeks”. The EMA had already approved its emergency use in the European Union in December, in order to support national authorities, who can decide on a possible early use of the drug.