Pfizer develops Covid pill that cuts hospitalisations and deaths by 89%

A pill that could be taken at home at the first sign of symptoms is a crucial tool for taming the Covid-19 crisis globally, so long as it's widely available

Pfizer Inc. said its Covid-19 pill reduced hospitalisations and deaths in high-risk patients by 89%, a result that has the potential to upend how the disease caused by the coronavirus is treated and alter the course of the pandemic. 

The drugmaker said in a statement on Friday that it was no longer taking new patients in a clinical trial of the treatment “due to the overwhelming efficacy” and planned to submit the findings to U.S. regulatory authorities for emergency authorization as soon as possible. 

The results mean there are now two promising candidates for treating Covid-19 patients early in the