Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he instructed health officials over the weekend to study Pfizer's trial data for its experimental antiviral drug to treat COVID-19.
Speaking at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Bennett said the new medication could be an additional and significant tool to fight the coronavirus pandemic
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Pfizer experimental COVID medication, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett
(Photo: Reuters, GPO)
On Sunday the ministry said that 194 new coronavirus cases were confirmed on the previous day after 28,778 tests were conducted, indicating a 0.68% positivity rate.
There are currently 178 in serious condition being treated in hospitals, with 111 on ventilators.
Since the start of the pandemic, 8,114 Israelis have succumbed to the virus.
Director-General of the Health Ministry, Professor Nachman Ash, said the ministry will approach Pfizer in the coming days to request information on PAXLOVID, the pharmaceutical's anti-viral medication to treat COVID-19 and to indicate Israel's interest in purchasing the drug pending FDA approval.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said on Friday that his company was in discussions with 90 governments around the world, interested in purchasing the anti-viral medicine for their citizens and that some purchase agreements have already been signed. The Israeli government was not among those Bourla mentioned.
Pfizer announced on Friday that its experimental antiviral pill to treat COVID-19, cut rates of hospitalization and death by nearly 90% in high-risk adults in a trial. Pfizer tested 1,200 coronavirus patients suffering from slight and moderate symptoms, who have at least one underlying condition.
The company said it will ask the FDA and international regulators to authorize its pill as soon as possible, after independent experts recommended halting the company’s study based on the strength of its results. Once Pfizer applies, the FDA could make a decision within weeks or months.
The FDA is also reviewing a coronavirus drug produced by Merck pharmaceuticals, after showing strong initial results, and on Thursday the United Kingdom became the first country to approve its use.
Senior immunotherapy specialist Prof. Cyrille Cohen said the drug is different from existing medications administered to COVID patients to date.
"The existing medications targeted the possible complications caused by the virus," he said, "but the Pfizer drug will prevent complications from occurring."
"This could reduce the number of people willing to receive the coronavirus vaccines," he said. "It is better not to be infected by the virus at all and the risk of variants is still a source of concern," Cohen said.
The anti-viral drug aims to prevent the virus from reproducing inside cells, in a similar manner achieved by some HIV medications.
But Professor Ronen Ben-Ami who heads the infectious disease department at the Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv, warned that the pharmaceutical company has not yet provided data to support its announcement.
"What we've heard sounds very interesting and promising but is also expensive and not likely to be available in parts of the world where the vaccination rate is low," he said.
"We know that early treatment of COVID-19 can prevent hospitalizations and deaths," Professor Galia Rahav, Head of infectious disease at the Sheba Medical Center said.
"This is an important message for those being treated at home and too late for those already hospitalized," she said. "The challenge will be ensuring that the drugs are administered to all those being treated in the community, who need them," she said.
First published: 11:29, 11.07.21