An oral antiviral for COVID-19 in people at risk of severe disease.
PAXLOVID is indicated for the treatment of mild-to-moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in adults who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death. PAXLOVID which includes nirmatrelvir, a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) main protease (M pro : also referred to as 3CL pro or nsp5 protease) inhibitor, and ritonavir, an HIV-1 protease inhibitor and CYP3A inhibitor, is indicated for the treatment of mild-to-moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in adults who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death. ( 1 ) Limitations of Use PAXLOVID is not approved for use as pre-exposure or post-exposure prophylaxis for prevention of COVID-19. ( 1 ) Limitations of Use PAXLOVID is not approved for use as pre-exposure or post-exposure prophylaxis for prevention of COVID-19 [see…
12.1 Mechanism of Action Nirmatrelvir is a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antiviral drug [see Microbiology (12.4) ]. Ritonavir is an HIV-1 protease inhibitor but is not active against SARS-CoV-2 M pro . Ritonavir inhibits the CYP3A-mediated metabolism of nirmatrelvir, resulting in increased plasma concentrations of nirmatrelvir.
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Plain-English summaries and drug-class explainers are written and reviewed by the Priya Life Science editorial team, led by Sreepriya Prasannan (MSc Digital Transformation of Life Sciences (Innopharma Education / Griffith College); MSc & BSc Botany). Data is retrieved automatically from the sources above and cross-checked with AI-assisted verification (Anthropic's Claude) — brand and generic names are matched against the exact FDA product record so that a combination product or a different formulation cannot be mistaken for the drug on this page. An editor reviews the result before publication. We describe this in full in our editorial standards and corrections policy. The FDA data on this page was last retrieved on 22 Aug 2026.