Pfizer announced that clinical trials of its experimental Covid-19 pill have been so successful in cutting by 89% the chances of hospitalization or death for adults at risk of developing severe disease, that it's stopping the studies early. 

Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s chief executive, called the drug a potential “game-changer” in a statement.

These data suggest that our oral antiviral candidate, if approved by regulatory authorities, has the potential to save patients’ lives, reduce the severity of Covid-19 infections, and eliminate up to nine out of ten hospitalizations.”

The antiviral pill, which is combined with a low dose of an HIV drug called ritonavir, can reduce hospitalizations or deaths from Covid-19 by up to 89 percent among high-risk patients, Pfizer said in a news release.

Pfizer said it planned to ask the Food and Drug Administration to authorize the drug combination “as soon as possible.”