U.S. signs $5.9 billion deal with Pfizer for COVID-19 treatment pill

The U.S. government will pay drugmaker Pfizer nearly $5.3 billion for 10 million treatment courses of its potential COVID-19 treatment if regulators approve it.

Pfizer asked the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday to authorize the experimental pill, called Paxlovid.

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 drugmaker studied its pill in people who were unvaccinated and who faced the greatest risk from the virus due to age or health problems, such as obesity.