Paxlovid not for low risk : study

	Rachel Fieldhouse NIRMATRELVIR – RITONAVIR is	high risk for severe COVID-19 has not been established ,” the investigators	“ relatively late ” in the disease course and that just 5 % of the cohort were	group compared with 13 days for placebo users .
	no better than placebo for resolv-	concluded .	people aged 65 and over .	Similar results were seen when
	ing symptoms in patients who are at	Infectious diseases physician Pro-	The international study compared	comparing high-risk and standard-risk
	low risk for severe COVID-19 , suggest	fessor Allen Cheng told Australian	outcomes in 1300 patients ( mean age	patients . Although half as many
	results from a Pfizer-funded study .	Doctor that the findings “ support our	42 ) at “ standard risk ” for severe dis-	patients given Paxlovid were hospi-
	The phase II / III trial showed no	current policy of not giving [ Paxlovid ]	ease who received either Paxlovid or	talised for COVID-19 or died of any
	significant difference between nir-	to lower-risk people with COVID-19 ”.	placebo within five days of testing	cause , the difference was not statisti-
	matrelvir – ritonavir ( Paxlovid ) and	“ But it does not inform what we	positive for SARS-CoV-2 .	cally significant .
	placebo for time to symptom alle-	should do for higher-risk patients who	About 57 % were vaccinated , and	Rates of adverse events were sim-
	viation in patients with confirmed	are currently eligible for treatment .”	half had at least one risk factor for	ilar between treatment groups , with
Professor Allen Cheng .	COVID-19 . “ The usefulness of nirmatrelvir – ritonavir in patients who are not at	Professor Cheng , who was not involved in the study , added that Paxlovid was given to trial participants			severe illness . The researchers found that the mean time to symptom alleviation was 12 days in the Paxlovid	dysgeusia , diarrhoea and nausea the most frequently reported . N Engl J Med 2024 ; 3 Apr .

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‘ Power ’: 15 % relative risk reduction with Repatha ® vs placebo in the composite of the primary endpoint beyond optimised statin ± ezetimibe ( HR : 0.85 ; 95 % CI : 0.79 – 0.92 , p < 0.001 ). 2

PBS Information : Authority Required . Non-familial and familial hypercholesterolaemia . Criteria apply for certain patient populations . Refer to PBS Schedule for full Authority Required Information .

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Abbreviations : CI , confidence interval ; CV , cardiovascular ; HR , hazard ratio ; MI , myocardial infarction ; PBS , Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme . References : 1 . Repatha ® ( evolocumab ) product information . 2 . Sabatine MS , et al . N Engl J Med 2017 ; 376:1713 – 1722 .

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Corporate could sell for $ 1bn

Antony Scholefield THE GP corporate once known as Primary Health Care could be changing hands yet again — reportedly for $ 1 billion .

The clinic group established by Dr Ed Bateman back in 1986 was rebranded as Healius in 2018 and then sold to private equity investor BGH Capital in 2020 for around $ 500 million .

The 70-odd practices now operate under the name For- Health , contracting more than 1300 health practitioners across general practice , skin cancer , women ’ s health , occupational health and travel health clinics .

Last month , The Australian reported that BGH Capital could sell ForHealth to an overseas investor for up to $ 1 billion .

It claimed that BGH Capital had considered listing ForHealth on the ASX but now planned to sell it for a potentially huge profit .

The clinics have changed significantly since the Primary Health Care days , when they were synonymous with universal bulk-billing .

Over the past few years , some of the clinics have made the switch to private billing , while ForHealth has also been a key player in the Federal Government ’ s urgent care clinic plan .

It operates around 20 of the 58 urgent care clinics .

While the value of the urgent care clinic contracts is commercial-in-confidence , for context , the total Federal Government funding for the 58 urgent care clinics is around $ 360 million over five years .

Aside from ForHealth , BGH Capital owns a diverse group of companies , including IVF provider Virtus Health , cinema and theme park company Village Roadshow , bakery chain Laurent and chicken company Hazeldene ’ s .

AMG8657 _ Repatha Print Media 24 _ Aus Doc _ A4 _ 210x273 _( FEMALE )_ V0.4 _ FA . indd 1 5 / 2 / 2024 3:30 pm

Australian Doctor 10th May issue 2024 | Page 8

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Paxlovid not for low risk : study

PREVENT ANOTHER CV EVENT * 1 , 2

CHOOSE REPATHA ®

Corporate could sell for $ 1bn