Pfizer shares soar after data finds COVID antiviral reduced risk of death or hospitalization by 89% in high-risk adults

Pfizer Inc. shares PFE, -1.31% jumped 13% in premarket trade Friday, after the company said interim data from a Phase 2/3 trial of its oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19 reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% in non-hospitalized high-risk adults with COVID. The company said the interim data set came from 1,219 adults who were enrolled in the trial by Sept. 29. The trial stopped recruiting patients at about 70% of the 3,000 planned patients from trials across North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia, with 45% of patients located in the United States. There were no deaths in patients who received Paxlovid, while 10 people on placebo died. The company is planning to submit the data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as part of a rolling submission for an emergency use authorization as soon as possible. "These data suggest that our oral antiviral candidate, if approved or authorized by regulatory authorities, has the potential to save patients' lives, reduce the severity of COVID-19 infections, and eliminate up to nine out of ten hospitalizations," Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement. Pfizer shares have gained 19% in the year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.09% has gained 18% and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.42% has gained 24.6%.