On Nov. 18, 2021, Pfizer announced an agreement with the U.S. government to supply 10 million treatment courses of its investigational COVID-19 oral antiviral candidate, PAXLOVIDﾙ (PF-07321332; ritonavir), subject to regulatory authorization from the FDA.

If approved or authorized, PAXLOVID, which originated in Pfizerﾒs laboratories, would be the first oral antiviral of its kind, a 3CL protease inhibitor specifically designed to combat SARS-CoV-2.