JAKARTA, July 18 — Indonesia’s Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) has granted an emergency use authorisation of Pfizer’s antiviral drug, Paxlovid, to treat eligible COVID-19 patients.
The approved film-coated Paxlovid contains 150 mg of nirmatrelvir co-packaged with 100 mg ritonavir, according to its head, Penny Kusumastuti Lukito.
The recommended dose is 300 mg nirmatrelvir, equivalent to two 150 mg tablets, with a tablet of 100 mg ritonavir, taken twice a day for five days, she said in a statement.
Previously, BPOM granted permits for two antiviral drugs, namely Favipiravir and Remdesivir in 2020, monoclonal antibody Regdanvimab (2021), and Molnupiravir (2022).
The world’s fourth most populous country recorded 3,540 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, down from Saturday’s 4,329 cases.
Daily cases rose to over 3,000 this month because of the Omicron variant, where most of the new cases were in Greater Jakarta.
Currently, Indonesia’s booster shot coverage of only 25 per cent of the targeted 208 million people, having received their third dose.
