A federal advisory panel recommended Food and Drug Administration approval for Paxlovid on Thursday
The Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee said the drug’s benefits outweigh the risks when used to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults who are at high risk for severe disease, hospitalization or death.
Nirmatrelvir, an oval, pink pill, is a so-called protease inhibitor – the same type of drug that turned HIV into a manageable disease. It stops the SARS-CoV-2 virus from replicating. Ritonavir, a white or off-white pill, boosts the activity of nirmatrelvir.
Paxlovid is given in a five-day course with three pills taken twice a day, with most people feeling better by the second or third day on the drug.
Over 8 million COVID-19 patients in the the U.S. have received Paxlovid since it was first authorized by the FDA emergency use in December 2021.
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