New Covid pill shows promising results over Paxlovid

Antiviral drug proves promising with slightly better results than Paxlovid when tested on 380 patients

In its phase three trial in China, a new Covid antiviral pill has been declared to be as effective as Paxlovid at curbing mild to moderate illness in people at high risk of severe disease.

Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the treatment has seen fewer side effects in patients than Paxlovid, with 67% of patients reporting side effects while 77% of patients had reported side effects after consuming the latter drug.

The new drug has fewer reactions and side effects when taken with other medications as well.

The drug, VV116, has been produced by pharma companies Junshi Biosciences and Vigonvita Life Sciences, who tweaked the formula so the body can absorb it in pill form.

The treatment was given to 380 people in a trial lasting five days of continuous treatment on both drugs. The median time of recovery with no Covid symptoms was four days for patients who had taken VV116 and five days for patients who's taken Paxlovid.

After four weeks, 98% of patients had recovered and none of them developed severe Covid.

The trial was deemed a success by study co-author Ren Zhao, a professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.

US medical experts are, however, keen on studying the drug more and conducting trials on a larger and more diverse group. More trials will help closely observe rare side effects of the drug and examine how the drug will hold off against new Omnicron subvariants, NBC news reported.