Paxlovid and Lagevrio cut deaths and hospitalization in Omicron patients

New Cleveland Clinic-led research shows that the COVID-19 antivirals Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir) and Lagevrio (molnupiravir)—from Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK), respectively - reduce risk of hospitalization and death in high-risk patients with mild disease, even with Omicron subvariants.

The observational study, published in JAMA Network Open, analyzed nearly 70,000 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 at Cleveland Clinic between April 2022 to February 2023, finding that nirmatrelvir lowered risk of death by 84% and molnupiravir by 77% compared to no treatment.

"The findings regarding the effectiveness of Lagevrio are especially crucial due to notable Paxlovid drug-drug interactions"Both drugs also reduced combined risk of hospitalization and death by more than 40%. Importantly, the treatments were effective across all patient subgroups and against newer strains like BQ.1.1 and XBB.1.5.