They say later in the article that the pill is a good option for folks that can't or won't use the CPAP.

A CPAP is really effective, so it would be first line treatment. If I couldn't use one but needed it, I'd be happy to have fewer events per hour than all of it. Improvement is better than nothing in this case. Besides, a lot of drugs are improved after the initial breakthrough drug - so this gives hope that we might actually be able to be free of the CPAP for many more folks.

CPAP reduces my AHI from 55-60 down to less than 0.5. For people with severe sleep apnea, an 'improvement' of 4 events per hour does absolutely nothing for their health and provides a false sense of security. Their time, money, and energy is much better spent learning how to adapt to CPAP.