Do not use PAXLOVID if:
- You are allergic to nirmatrelvir, ritonavir or to any of the other ingredients in PAXLOVID (see What the medicinal ingredient is or What the non-medicinal ingredients are).
- You are taking any of the following medicines:
- alfuzosin, used to treat high blood pressure
- amiodarone, bepridil*, dronedarone, flecainide, propafenone, quinidine, used to treat irregular heartbeats
- apalutamide, used for prostate cancer
- astemizole* or terfenadine*, used to relieve allergy symptoms
- cisapride*, used to relieve certain stomach problems
- colchicine, when used in patients with kidney and/or liver problems, used to treat gout
- ergotamine*, dihydroergotamine (used to treat headaches), ergonovine, methylergonovine* (used after labour and delivery)
- fusidic acid, used as an antibiotic
- lovastatin, lomitapide or simvastatin, used to lower cholesterol
- lurasidone, pimozide, used to treat mental health problems
- neratinib, used to treat breast cancer
- ranolazine, used to treat chronic angina (chest pain)
- rifampin and saquinavir, used to treat tuberculosis, should not be used together with ritonavir
- rivaroxaban, used as an anticoagulant
- salmeterol, used for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum), an herbal product used to treat depression
- triazolam and midazolam* (oral or injected), used to relieve anxiety and/or trouble sleeping
- PDE5 inhibitors vardenafil, used to treat erectile dysfunction, or sildenafil, used for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)
- voriconazole, used as an antifungal
- venetoclax during the dose initiation and during the ramp-up phase, used to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia
- carbamazepine, phenobarbital, phenytoin used to treat seizures (epilepsy)
The following may also interact with PAXLOVID:
- medicines used to treat erectile dysfunction, such as tadalafil
- medicines used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension, such as bosentan or tadalafil
- medicines used to lower blood cholesterol, such as atorvastatin and rosuvastatin
- some medicines affecting the immune system, such as cyclosporin, sirolimus and tacrolimus
- some medicines used to treat seasonal allergies and ear and eye infections, such as budesonide, dexamethasone, fluticasone propionate, prednisone, and triamcinolone
- medicines used to treat AIDS and related infections, such as amprenavir, indinavir*, nelfinavir, saquinavir, didanosine*, rifabutin, tipranavir, delavirdine*, atazanavir, maraviroc, fosamprenavir, raltegravir, tenofovir and darunavir
- medicines used to treat depression, such as trazodone, desipramine and bupropion
- certain heart medicines, such as calcium channel antagonists including diltiazem, nifedipine and verapamil
- medicines used to correct heart rhythm, such as systemic lidocaine and digoxin
- antifungals, such as ketoconazole and itraconazole*
- morphine-like medicines used to treat severe pain, such as methadone and meperidine
- anticoagulants, such as warfarin
- certain antibiotics, such as rifabutin and clarithromycin
- antibiotics used in the treatment of tuberculosis, such as rifampin
- bronchodilators used to treat asthma, such as theophylline
- medicines used to treat cancer, such as abemaciclib, dasatinib, encorafenib, ibrutinib, nilotinib, vincristine and vinblastine
- medicines used for low blood platelet count, such as fostamatinib
- some heart rhythm drugs, such as mexiletine and disopyramide
- some anticonvulsants, such as clonazepam, divalproex, lamotrigine and ethosuximide
- some narcotic analgesics, such as fentanyl in all forms, tramadol and propoxyphene
- quetiapine used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder
- medicines used to treat hepatitis C, such as simeprevir, glecaprevir/pibrentasvir or ombitasvir, paritaprevir and ritonavir with or without dasabuvir*
- some sedatives or medicines to treat anxiety, such as buspirone, clorazepate, diazepam, flurazepam and zolpidem
- stimulants, such as methamphetamine
- medicines used to treat pain associated with endometriosis, such as elagolix
- medicines used to treat depression, such as amitriptyline, clomipramine, fluoxetine, imipramine, maprotiline*, nefazodone*, nortriptyline, paroxetine, sertraline, trimipramine
- medicines used to treat nausea and vomiting, such as dronabinol*
- medicines used to treat pneumonia, such as atovaquone
- medicines used as a sedative and medicines used to help you sleep (hypnotics), such as estazolam
- medicines used to treat increased pressure in the eye, such as timolol
- medicines used to lower blood pressure, such as metoprolol
- medicines used to treat HIV, such as efavirenz
- medicines used to prevent organ rejection after a transplant, such as everolimus, rapamycin
- medicines used to treat certain mental/mood disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, such as perphenazine, risperidone and thioridazine
- medicines used as hormonal contraceptives containing ethinyl estradiol (“the pill”)
* Product is not or no longer marketed in Canada.