Pfizer Struggled to Recruit for Covid Drug Trial as Cases Soared
- Drugmaker shifts antiviral efficacy studies to second quarter
- Resource-strapped hospitals, trial design posed challenges
Photographer: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg
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Pfizer Inc. is pushing back by months a late-stage study on its lead antiviral treatment for Covid-19 because it couldn’t enroll enough patients at a time when infections are surging.
The giant U.S. drugmaker has been praised for ushering in a successful vaccine in just 10 months, a major feat given vaccines typical take years to develop. But while vaccines are studied in healthy volunteers from the community at large, antiviral treatments must be measured in sick patients, typically in early stages of the disease.