Paxlovid, which is made up of two antiviral drugs, is approved or permitted for conditional or emergency use in more than 60 countries to treat high-risk COVID-19 patients, according to Pfizer.

The Paxlovid antiviral pill has not been found to be effective in preventing coronavirus infection in those living with someone who has been exposed to the virus, according to a major clinical trial released by Pfizer on Friday.

The study included 3,000 individuals who had contact with a family member who had Covid-19 symptoms and had previously been identified as coronavirus positive. Paxlovid was given to some and a placebo to others for 5 or 10 days.

The five-day course participants were shown to be 32 percent less likely to get infections than the placebo group. With 10 days of Paxlovid, that number increased to 37 percent. The results, however, were not statistically significant and hence may have been attributable to chance.

Pfizer reported that the safety data in the clinical trial were in line with previous studies, which had shown that the pills were 90% effective in preventing the treatment of patients with Covid-19 belonging to the so-called high-risk groups. if administered for five days shortly after the onset of symptoms.

“While we are disappointed in the outcome of this particular study, these results do not impact the strong efficacy and safety data we’ve observed in our earlier trial for the treatment of COVID-19 patients,” said Albert Burla, CEO of Pfizer.

Paxlovid, a combination of two antiviral medicines, is presently approved or permitted for conditional or emergency use in more than 60 countries to treat high-risk COVID-19 patients, according to Pfizer.

According to Wall Street predictions provided by Refinitiv, Paxlovid sales, which are part of a family of medications known as protease inhibitors, are expected to exceed $24 billion this year.

Pfizer’s stock plummeted another 1 percent after hours, to $48.53, after falling 3 percent during regular trade.

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