KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will receive an initial shipment of 110,000 treatment courses of Pfizer's Covid-19 oral antiviral treatment, Paxlovid, this month.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the agreement with Pfizer for Malaysia to procure Paxlovid was signed and finalised last month.
"The first batch (of the antivirals) is expected to arrive in Malaysia in two weeks. We have procured the oral antiviral to treat 110,000 Covid-19 patients.
"Paxlovid will be administered to high-risk patients and if the treatment is found to be effective as per the information we had received, the ministry will place another order from Pfizer," he told reporters after launching the 16th National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia Annual Dialysis Conference 2022 in Petaling Jaya today.
Khairy said that the health ministry is also looking at procuring two other Covid-19 antivirals - Merck's Molnupiravir and AstraZeneca's Covid antibody drug.
"This, however, has not been finalised."
The Health Ministry had on March 3 issued conditional registration approval for Paxlovid to treat adults infected with the virus.
This is the first oral pill specifically developed to treat the illness approved in Malaysia.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had said Paxlovid would be indicated for the treatment of Covid-19 in adults aged 18 and above who do not require supplemental oxygen and who are at increased risk for progressing to severe Covid-19.
Dr Noor Hisham said Paxlovid, however, was not intended to be used as a replacement for Covid-19 vaccination and public health measures particularly standard operating procedures' (SOP) compliance.
Paxlovid is a combination product containing two different tablets of antiviral medicines: ritonavir and an investigational compound called PF-07321332. One dose of Paxlovid consists of two pink tablets and one white tablet taken together at the same time.
Paxlovid should be administered as soon as possible after a diagnosis of Covid-19 has been made and within five days of symptom onset.
Pfizer's clinical trials have shown that Paxlovid may reduce the risk of needing hospital admission or dying from Covid-19 disease by up to 89 per cent compared to placebo in non-hospitalised high-risk adults with Covid-19.
In the overall population study, no deaths were reported in patients who received Paxlovid as compared to 10 deaths in patients who received a placebo.
According to Pfizer's "Fact Sheet for Patients, Parents, and Caregivers", possible side effects of Paxlovid are allergic reactions, liver problems, resistance to HIV medicines, altered sense of taste, diarrhoea, high blood pressure or muscle aches.
"Allergic reactions can happen in people taking Paxlovid, even after only one dose. Stop taking Paxlovid and call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following allergic reaction symptoms — hives, trouble swallowing or breathing, swelling of the mouth, lips, or face or throat tightness, hoarseness and skin rash."