Pfizer Begins Trial Evaluating Oral COVID-19 Antiviral

The next frontier in COVID-19 treatment is oral antiviral medicines, and Pfizer is the latest company to launch a new trial in that area.

Pfizer has announced a new phase 2/3 study on a novel COVID-19 antiviral candidate in adults. The new study will evaluate novel protease inhibitor — PF-07321332 co-administered with a low dose of ritonavir (an antiviral focused on HIV infection) — for prevention of illness in adults living in the same household as someone with COVID-19.

Pfizer’s third study on the candidate is looking to enroll 2,660 healthy adult participants, said the company.

The best-case scenario if trials go well and the candidate is approved: The drug would be administered at the first sign of infection with, or exposure to, SARS-CoV-2, without requiring patients to be hospitalized, the company said.