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Paxlovid to be investigated by the RECOVERY Trial as a potential treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19

NDM-CGHR

The RECOVERY Trial begins testing the antiviral treatment Paxlovid. Paxlovid, an oral antiviral treatment developed by Pfizer, is a combination of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir. Nirmatrelvir inhibits an enzyme that is critical for the replication of the virus that causes COVID-19, whilst ritonavir increases the concentration of nirmatrelvir.

Gloved hands with white pills

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.'

The full story is available on the RECOVERY website

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