Pfizer announced last night that the US FDA had authorized the emergency use of its oral pill against Covid-19, called Paxlovid.

The American laboratory emphasizes that the health authority based its decision on preliminary results showing that the drug reduced the risk of hospitalization or death between 88% and 89% compared to placebo when it was administered in three to five days after the first symptoms appear.

The treatment was developed from nirmatrelvir, a homemade protease inhibitor designed in-house with the goal of blocking an enzyme that the coronavirus needs to replicate.

Pfizer specifies that it plans to file a file with a view to obtaining final authorization for the drug in the course of 2022.