Apparently everyone loves Pfizer’s new COVID-19 pill.
On March 25, TASS reported Russian pharmaceutical company Pharmasyntez, which produces Sputnik Light, was applying to manufacture a COVID-19 drug based on a combination of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir.
At the end of 2021, Russia’s health ministry included this drug combo on its list of approved COVID-19 treatments.
“Nirmatrelvir and ritonavir” is an antiviral drug developed by Pfizer under the brand name Paxlovid. Pfizer has partnered with dozens of generic drugmakers around the world in order to supply 95 countries with the medication.
In China, the Pfizer pill is the first foreign-made COVID treatment to enter the Chinese market, according to the South China Morning Post.
As the outlet reported, China’s drug regulator:
“conditionally approved Paxlovid to treat adults with mild to moderate COVID-19 who had a high risk of becoming severely ill, including the elderly and patients with chronic kidney issues, cardiovascular or chronic lung disease, diabetes and other high-risk factors for COVID-19.”
However, ritonavir’s listed side effects include diabetes and kidney stones.
According to media reports (), Paxlovid’s COVID-fighting properties can be attributed to one of the drug’s key ingredients, ritonavir, “a medication commonly used in combination treatments for HIV.”
However, the drug can actually lead to HIV-1 drug resistance.
