Pfizer To Provide Additional 40,000 PAXLOVID Treatment Courses In New Zealand To Help Combat COVID-19

• Pfizer confirms it will supply an additional 40,000 PAXLOVID® (nirmatrelvir tablets and ritonavir tablets) treatment courses to the New Zealand Government, bringing the total to 100,000 PAXLOVID treatment courses in New Zealand for 2022.
• PAXLOVID is the first oral treatment of its kind; it is a SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) inhibitor (also known as SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease inhibitor) therapy.
• Data demonstrated up to 86% relative risk reduction of COVID-19-related hospitalisation or death from any cause in adults treated with PAXLOVID within five days of symptom onset compared to placebo.

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND, 12th September 2022 – Pfizer announced today that it will supply the New Zealand Government with an additional 40,000 treatment courses of PAXLOVID® (nirmatrelvir tablets and ritonavir tablets), bringing a total of 100,000 treatment courses in 2022 for New Zealand. This follows the initial supply agreement signed in December 2021, and Medsafe’s provisional consent for the supply and use of PAXLOVID in New Zealand in March 2022.

Pfizer New Zealand Managing Director, Anne Harris, said the provision of this additional supply was an important milestone in the fight against COVID-19, and a testament to the continued collaboration between Pfizer and the New Zealand Government since the beginning of the pandemic.

“Vaccination remains the most effective way to help prevent COVID-19. However, we know we need to tackle the virus on many fronts,” Ms Harris said.

“PAXLOVID provides an important second line of defence for those most at risk and can be an important tool in helping Kiwis to stay out of hospital and avoid serious illness and death.

“This additional supply means more patients will be able to access this COVID-19 oral medicine through their healthcare professional or pharmacy and be treated at home, reducing the impact on hospitals,” Ms Harris said.

Pfizer New Zealand Medical Director Dr Krishan Thiru said: “PAXLOVID is a first-of-its-kind antiviral pill for COVID-19.

“PAXLOVID works by slowing or stopping a virus from replicating. This may help reduce symptoms and the risk of significant health complications.

“This is why it is important for people at higher risk, to get tested for COVID-19 at the first sign of symptoms. That way if they are COVID-19 positive, they can seek medical advice quickly and find out what treatment may be appropriate for them”, Dr Thiru said.

PAXLOVID is an oral medicine and should be taken within the first five days of symptomatic infection. Data demonstrated up to 86% relative risk reduction of COVID-19-related hospitalisation or death from any cause in adults treated with PAXLOVID compared to placebo in those treated within five days of symptom onset, with no deaths in the treatment group.

PAXLOVID has provisional consent for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in adults 18 years of age and older, who do not require initiation of supplemental oxygen due to COVID-19 and are at increased risk of progression to hospitalisation or death.

People seeking more information can go to: treatpositive.co.nz.

Pharmac’s access criteria for COVID-19 antivirals is available at: COVID-19 antivirals: Access Criteria - Pharmac | New Zealand Government

About PAXLOVID® (nirmatrelvir tablets and ritonavir tablets)
PAXLOVID is a SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) inhibitor (also known as SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease inhibitor) therapy. It was developed to be administered orally so that it can be prescribed early after infection, potentially helping patients avoid severe illness (which can lead to hospitalisation and death). Nirmatrelvir [PF-07321332], which originated in Pfizer laboratories, is designed to block the activity of the Mpro, an enzyme that the coronavirus needs to replicate. Co-administration with a low dose of ritonavir helps slow the metabolism, or breakdown, of nirmatrelvir in order for it to remain active in the body for longer periods of time at higher concentrations to help combat the virus.

Nirmatrelvir is designed to inhibit viral replication at a stage known as proteolysis, which occurs before viral RNA replication. In preclinical studies, nirmatrelvir did not demonstrate evidence of mutagenic DNA interactions.

Current variants of concern can be resistant to treatments that work by binding to the spike protein found on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. PAXLOVID, however, works intracellularly by binding to the highly conserved Mpro (3CL protease) of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to inhibit viral replication. Nirmatrelvir has shown consistent in vitro antiviral activity against the following variants: Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma, Lambda, Mu, and Omicron BA.1 and BA.2.

PAXLOVID is generally administered at a dose of 300 mg (two 150 mg tablets) of nirmatrelvir with one 100 mg tablet of ritonavir, given twice-daily for five days. One carton contains five blister packs of

PAXLOVID, as co-packaged nirmatrelvir tablets with ritonavir tablets, providing all required doses for a full five-day treatment course.

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