Whilst Paxlovid has already been approved in the UK for treating patients with early-stage COVID-19 who are at high risk of developing severe disease (for instance, cancer patients), it is not known whether it can also benefit patients who have been hospitalised with COVID-19.
Sir Peter Horby, Joint Chief Investigator for RECOVERY, said: 'Two years into the pandemic, we are still lacking effective antiviral drugs for patients with severe COVID-19. Paxlovid is a promising oral antiviral drug but we don’t know if it can improve survival of patients with severe COVID-19. By testing Paxlovid in RECOVERY we will find out.'