Pfizer First: Oral Antiviral Paxlovid Wins EUA As Merck’s COVID Pill Languishes At US FDA

Authorized for mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in patients 12 and older at high risk for severe disease, Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir) jumped ahead of Merck & Co./Ridgeback’s molnupiravir in the EUA queue for oral antivirals, with the latter possibly hung up by efficacy and safety concerns.