Pfizer is submitting its experimental pill for Covid-19 for US authorisation, setting the stage for a likely launch of the promising therapy in coming weeks.
The company's antiviral is one of a handful of pills that have recently been shown to significantly cut hospitalisations and deaths among people infected with Covid-19.
If authorised by the Food and Drug Administration it could be a major step toward managing the pandemic, allowing patients to treat themselves at home.
FDA regulators will scrutinise company data on the safety and effectiveness of the drug, which will be sold as Paxlovid, before making a decision.
Pfizer has also signed a deal with a UN-backed group to allow other manufacturers to make the pill.
The move could make the treatment available to more than half of the world's population.
This is because generic drug companies would be able to produce the pill for use in 95 countries.
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