Pfizer Confirms COVID Pill’s Results, Potency Versus Omicron

WASHINGTON (AP) – Pfizer says that its experimental COVID-19 pill appears effective against the omicron variant.

The company also confirmed Tuesday that the pill delivered on promising early results in reducing COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths.

The updates come as U.S. regulators are expected to soon decide on whether to authorize Pfizer’s pill and a competing drug from Merck.

If authorized, the pills would be the first COVID-19 drugs that Americans could take at home to treat the virus.

Pfizer is seeking U.S. authorization for high-risk adults but is also studying the drug in lower-risk adults.

The company said the drug missed a key study goal in ongoing testing of those patients.