Pfizer asks FDA to grant emergency authorization for its COVID-19 pill

Pfizer is asking federal regulators to authorize its experimental COVID-19 pill, which the drugmaker says can protect people from the most severe symptoms of the disease. 

Pfizer on Tuesday said it is seeking Emergency Use Authorization for the antiviral pill, called Paxlovid, from the Food and Drug Administration. Earlier this month, the company said Paxlovid cut the risk of hospitalization and death by nearly 90% in people with mild to moderate coronavirus infections. 

The pharmaceutical giant, which also produces a coronavirus vaccine, earlier on Tuesday announced that it has signed a deal with a U.N.-backed group to allow other manufacturers to make the COVID-19 pill, a move that could make the treatment available to more than half of the world's population.