China’s medical products regulator said on Saturday it has given conditional approval for Pfizer’s Covid-19 drug Paxlovid, making it the first oral pill specifically developed to treat the disease cleared in the country.
The National Medical Products Administration said Paxlovid is approved to treat adults who have mild to moderate COVID-19 and high risk of progressing to a severe condition.
Further study on the drug needed to be conducted and submitted to the authority, it said.It is not immediately clear if China is already in talks with Pfizer to procure the pill. Pfizer did not reply to a Reuters request for comment. The approval is a boost to Pfizer which expects $22 billion in 2022 sales of the treatment.
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