The Health Ministry is expected to approach Pfizer in coming days to request information on PAXLOVID, the pharmaceutical's anti-viral medication to treat COVID-19.
Coronavirus czar Prof. Salman Zarka told Kan Public Radio on Sunday that pending authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use, Israel will purchase the medication in an expedited manner.
"I am sure that once the FDA approves the use of the drug, the ministry will purchase it and it will be an additional tool in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic," Zarka said.
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: 08:52, 11.07.21