African Clinical Trial Denied Access to COVID-19 Antiviral Drug
A paper published on Monday in Nature finds that researchers in an African clinical trial called ANTICOV, which aims to find COVID-19 treatments that are effective in resource-poor settings, have been denied access to key antiviral drugs.
According to the paper, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative requested Pfizer supply enough doses of Paxlovid, its antiviral drug, to treat 1,000-2,000 ANTICOV clinical participants.
Pfizer denied the request, indicating plans to conduct similar trials.
Paxlovid is a two-drug combination of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir. According to Pfizer data released in December, the drug reduces the risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19 by 88% when given within five days of symptoms to adults at high risk of developing severe disease.
There are other antiviral treatments for COVID-19 currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, such as molnupiravir.
Members from the ANTICOV trial did not use other antivirals, as supplies were limited and other treatments did not provide the same level of protection.
On March 17, the Medicines Patent Pool, a United Nations-backed public health organization, announced 35 generic manufacturers signed agreements to produce low-cost, generic versions of Pfizer’s Paxlovid for supply in 95 low- and middle-income countries.
Those drugs are not expected to hit the market until 2023.
On March 22, UNICEF announced Pfizer agreed to provide up to 4 million courses of Paxlovid for distribution in low- and middle-income countries starting in April. Pfizer said it can make 120 million courses of the treatment by the end of 2022.
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