MHRA nod for supply and use of Pfizer's COVID-19 oral antiviral

The UK subsidiary of US pharma giant Pfizer (NYE: PFE) today announced today that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has granted a conditional marketing authorization for Great Britain for the supply and use of PF-07321332/ritonavir for the treatment of COVID-19 in adults who do not require supplemental oxygen and who are at increased risk for progression to severe disease.

Trade named Paxlovid, PF-07321332/ritonavir is a novel protease inhibitor that includes PF-07321332, a drug designed to block the activity of the 3C-like (3CL) protease, also known as the main protease (Mpro) inhibitor, that was specifically designed in Pfizer’s laboratories to combat SARS-CoV-2. 3CL protease is a virally encoded protein that is essential to enable the virus to replicate; by inhibiting this viral protein, PF-07321332 reduces the ability of the virus to reproduce.

Paxlovid is the second oral COVID-19 antiviral approved by the MHRA, which early in November cleared Merck & Co’s (NYSE: MRK) Lagevrio (molnupiravir).