New Antiviral Pill From Pfizer More Effective Than Merck's

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Covid Live Updates: Pfizer Says Its Antiviral Pill Is Highly Effective

Pfizer announced on Friday that its pill to treat Covid-19 had been found in a key clinical trial to be highly effective at preventing severe illness among at-risk people who received the drug soon after they exhibited symptoms.

 

Pfizer’s pill, which will be sold under the brand name Paxlovid, cut the risk of hospitalization or death by 89 percent when given within three days of the start of symptoms.

Pfizer said an independent board of experts monitoring its clinical trial had recommended that the study be stopped early because the drug’s benefit to patients had proved so convincing. 

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/11/05/world/covid-delta-variant-vaccine

 

Like Mercks. though, it has to be given early on, apparently, for it to be effective. Likewise for the monoclonal antibody treatment from Regeneron. So, getting vaccinated is still a better option.

As for cost, I'm sure it will be a lot more than the $4 for a complete course of fluvoxamine, but I suspect the side effects won't be as difficult to endure. At least in respect to the dosage currently formulated for fluvoxamine.

Edited November 5, 2021 by placeholder

[Someone Else]

Link is paywalled...I'm curious about the details behind why they say it's more efficacious than Merck's?

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3 minutes ago, Someone Else said:

Link is paywalled...I'm curious about the details behind why they say it's more efficacious than Merck's?

Here's a link to a different site:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2021/11/05/pfizer-says-its-covid-pill-reduced-risk-of-hospitalization-and-death-by-89-in-clinical-study/?sh=6909c3f856be

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4 minutes ago, Someone Else said:

Link is paywalled...I'm curious about the details behind why they say it's more efficacious than Merck's?

Because it seems to be more effective than molnuprovir:

Covid-19: Molnupiravir reduces risk of hospital admission or death by 50% in patients at risk, MSD reports

https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj.n2422

[Someone Else]

5 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Because it seems to be more effective than molnuprovir:

Covid-19: Molnupiravir reduces risk of hospital admission or death by 50% in patients at risk, MSD reports

https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj.n2422

Not seeing any statements about superior efficacy in either link, nor has a comparator study been performed.  All I see is two completely separate studies. 

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49 minutes ago, Someone Else said:

Not seeing any statements about superior efficacy in either link, nor has a comparator study been performed.  All I see is two completely separate studies. 

Given that the results were so good that the trial was stopped prematurely, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet. But it could turn out not to be.

[Gottfrid]

22 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Given that the results were so good that the trial was stopped prematurely, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet. But it could turn out not to be.

Are you engaging in affiliation?

[JustAnotherHun]

Statements and "studies" made by Pfizer are nearly as credible as statements from Thai officials.

https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj.n2635

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6 minutes ago, JustAnotherHun said:

Statements and "studies" made by Pfizer are nearly as credible as statements from Thai officials.

https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj.n2635

One independent contractor hired by Pfizer but not Pfizer itself. 

[JustAnotherHun]

7 minutes ago, placeholder said:

One independent contractor hired by Pfizer but not Pfizer itself. 

Pfizer used the "study". And if you're interested in the long list of Pfizer scandals, Google will be your friend.

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1 minute ago, JustAnotherHun said:

Pfizer used the "study". And if you're interested in the long list of Pfizer scandals, Google will be your friend.

And if you're interested in comparing death and hospitalijzation rates from those who have been vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine and those who have not...oh wait...clearly you're not interested.

[Scott]

Off-topic posts removed along with replies.

[Bkk Brian]

Interesting comparison here, not official but it is from an expert:

 

My summary table comparing the new and highly effective anti-Covid pills, a vital step forward for prevailing over the pandemic No head-to-head trial to know about true comparative efficacy, but key differences in mechanism and other features

https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1456622941647478796

 

[mtls2005]

Just to be clear, this is a treatment.

 

And this treatment includes secondary HIV med, Ritonavir.

 

 

[Danderman123]

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00448-4/fulltext
 

Another positive clinical trial for fluvoxamine.

[rodknock]

the first thing is you need a sars-cov-2 test!

so you have to be sick first to get THE pill.

does that person need to be quarantined?? stay home with the family or go to a hospital??

 

[Atlantis]

@JustAnotherHun

"Revelations of poor practices at a contract research company helping to carry out Pfizer’s pivotal covid-19 vaccine trial raise questions about data integrity and regulatory oversight."

 

“After repeatedly notifying Ventavia of these problems, the regional director, Brook Jackson, emailed a complaint to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Ventavia fired her later the same day. "

 

"When it comes to the FDA and clinical trials, Elizabeth Woeckner, president of Citizens for Responsible Care and Research Incorporated (CIRCARE),3 says the agency’s oversight capacity is severely under-resourced. If the FDA receives a complaint about a clinical trial, she says the agency rarely has the staff available to show up and inspect. And sometimes oversight occurs too late.”

 

"In recent months Jackson has reconnected with several former Ventavia employees who all left or were fired from the company. One of them was one of the officials who had taken part in the late September meeting. In a text message sent in June the former official apologised, saying that “everything that you complained about was spot on.”

 

[Atlantis]

“ Two former Ventavia employees spoke to The BMJ anonymously for fear of reprisal and loss of job prospects in the tightly knit research community. Both confirmed broad aspects of Jackson’s complaint. One said that she had worked on over four dozen clinical trials in her career, including many large trials, but had never experienced such a “helter skelter” work environment as with Ventavia on Pfizer’s trial.

 

“I’ve never had to do what they were asking me to do, ever,” she told The BMJ. “It just seemed like something a little different from normal—the things that were allowed and expected.”

She added that during her time at Ventavia the company expected a federal audit but that this never came.”

 

@JustAnotherHun

Thank you for bringing to attention actual and relevant faults related to Pfizer from the recent past. You would think that everyone would find your link informative in adjusting their confidence in the company’s claims, if even just a little. But no, topic gets immediately turned to the tiresome go-to refrain along the lines of “But don’t you know how well the vaccines work?!”

 

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5 hours ago, Atlantis said:

“ Two former Ventavia employees spoke to The BMJ anonymously for fear of reprisal and loss of job prospects in the tightly knit research community. Both confirmed broad aspects of Jackson’s complaint. One said that she had worked on over four dozen clinical trials in her career, including many large trials, but had never experienced such a “helter skelter” work environment as with Ventavia on Pfizer’s trial.

 

“I’ve never had to do what they were asking me to do, ever,” she told The BMJ. “It just seemed like something a little different from normal—the things that were allowed and expected.”

She added that during her time at Ventavia the company expected a federal audit but that this never came.”

 

@JustAnotherHun

Thank you for bringing to attention actual and relevant faults related to Pfizer from the recent past. You would think that everyone would find your link informative in adjusting their confidence in the company’s claims, if even just a little. But no, topic gets immediately turned to the tiresome go-to refrain along the lines of “But don’t you know how well the vaccines work?!”

 

 

Texas study: Unvaccinated people are 20 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than the vaccinated

Unvaccinated Texans were 20 times more likely to die from COVID-19 and 13 times more likely to get infected with the virus from Sept. 4 to Oct. 1, according to a study released this week by the Texas Health Department. 

The difference in health outcomes varied among age groups, as unvaccinated people in their 40s were 55 times more likely to die from COVID-19, while unvaccinated people ages 75 and older were 12 times more likely to die. 

Dr. Jennifer Shuford, Texas's chief state epidemiologist, said that the study "quantifies what we’ve known for months."

https://www.foxnews.com/health/texas-study-unvaccinated-people-20-times-more-likely-to-die-from-coronavirus-than-vaccinated-people

 

And just in case you don't believe those leftists from Fox News, here's a direct link to the report itself.

https://www.dshs.texas.gov/immunize/covid19/data/Cases-and-Deaths-by-Vaccination-Status-11082021.pdf

[Bkk Brian]

COVID antiviral pills: what scientists still want to know

Drugs like molnupiravir and Paxlovid could change the course of the pandemic if clinical trial results hold up in the real world.

 

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03074-5

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4 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

COVID antiviral pills: what scientists still want to know

Drugs like molnupiravir and Paxlovid could change the course of the pandemic if clinical trial results hold up in the real world.

 

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03074-5

Of course, one big problem with this is that treatment has to begin early in the course of the disease. Unfortunately, there seem to be lots of people ideologically committed to the belief that there is no such thing as covid-19 or that it results in no life endangering consequences.

[Danderman123]

13 hours ago, Atlantis said:

“ Two former Ventavia employees spoke to The BMJ anonymously for fear of reprisal and loss of job prospects in the tightly knit research community. Both confirmed broad aspects of Jackson’s complaint. One said that she had worked on over four dozen clinical trials in her career, including many large trials, but had never experienced such a “helter skelter” work environment as with Ventavia on Pfizer’s trial.

 

“I’ve never had to do what they were asking me to do, ever,” she told The BMJ. “It just seemed like something a little different from normal—the things that were allowed and expected.”

She added that during her time at Ventavia the company expected a federal audit but that this never came.”

 

@JustAnotherHun

Thank you for bringing to attention actual and relevant faults related to Pfizer from the recent past. You would think that everyone would find your link informative in adjusting their confidence in the company’s claims, if even just a little. But no, topic gets immediately turned to the tiresome go-to refrain along the lines of “But don’t you know how well the vaccines work?!”

 

Fortunately, Covid vaccines are tested beyond clinical trials conducted by the manufacturer. 

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9 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

Fortunately, Covid vaccines are tested beyond clinical trials conducted by the manufacturer. 

Anyway, the trial was one of many trials conducted not by Pfizer but by various subcontractors.