Pfizer's inventive Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir (PaxlovidTM): Another arrow in the quiver against SARS-CoV-2

ABSTRACT

SARS-CoV-2 was a devastating global pandemic that swept the globe in late 2019, claiming the lives of an estimated 4 million people. Amidst challenging times, we are remembering Martin Luther King Jr.'s remark, "Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind." In that sense, scientists are repurposing drugs meticulously to curb the nCOVID-19. New antiviral drugs on the other hand are being developed at unparallel rates. Among those Pfizer's inventive Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir (PaxlovidTM), which inhibits the main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2, 3CL protease, will be another arrow in the quiver to mount resistance towards SARS-CoV-2. In patients treated with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir within five days of symptom onset, COVID-19-related hospitalizations and mortality were dramatically reduced. Paxlovid's high oral availability, allows it to be used in both hospitalized and outpatient patients. In this brief review, we presented pharmacokinetic, preclinical, and clinical evidence on Paxlovids for the treatment of moderate nCOVID-19.